Defying a polar freeze, 50 long canoes are lined up at the foot of Old Quebec City, their boaters preparing to brave dangerous ice slabs and swirling currents to cross the St. Lawrence River under heavy snow.
This is no rescue operation or feat of exploration; it's a gruelling test of mettle for competitors in Canada's wild world of ice canoe racing.
At the signal, athletes wearing shoes with metal studs push their boats at full speed onto the river's frozen surface.
One leg is in the canoe, the other is pushing out. When the ice patch gives way to an icy mush under their feet, they jump, somehow, into their boat, drawing their oar and beginning a frenzied scramble.
The objective is to race from the port of Quebec to the city of Levis, on the opposite shore of the river, and back -- a distance of 3.2 kilometers (two miles).
"It's a bit like the World Cup" of canoing on ice, says an enthusiastic Vicki Clouet-Côté, 30, who has been involved in this extreme sport for the past decade.
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After a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the boaters were back on Sunday to brave the elements during the Quebec Carnival race.
Teams gather at the starting line for the ice canoe race in Quebec City on February 5, 2023
"It's a sport that unites tradition and determination," explains Martin Roberge, while applying wax to the bottom of his canoe ahead of the race.