Going Topless at Quebec City Winter Carnival

While I could tell you all the details about Quebec City’s Winter Carnival (known as Carnaval in French) and all the extensive events and activities that are available, I’ll instead let my video do most of the talking.  Instead, why don’t I tell about how I ended up stripping down to my swimsuit and danced around hysterically with my fellow Canadian Anne-Marie, Carnaval’s mascot Bonhomme, and 58 other equally crazy Quebecois.

You did what?

Yes you heard me, I went topless and busted out my best dance moves on the snow in front of a crowd of hundreds.  No I wasn’t drugged or blackmailed into do it.  Honestly it wasn’t until days before the Quebec trip that I decided that I’d be doing the Carnaval Snow Bath.

I’ve been known to do wild things like the 8-story drop in Orlando and snorkelling with whale sharks but rolling around in snow definitely wasn’t tops on my bucket list.  So how did I get suckered into this you ask?  Well I got an email from Suzanne of Quebec Tourism doing a call out for participants.  Without reading too much into it, I accepted it because it sounded something down my alley.  Ultimately two of us brave (or rather crazy) ones signed up.

What did I get myself into?

It wasn’t until the day prior to Carnaval that it dawned on me that I had no idea what I signed up for.  I saw a few photos of Bonhomme and people in swimsuits throwing some snow around but that was it.  At dinner the night before, our Quebec City guide, Michel finally gave the two us a mini package containing instructions on what to bring and what to wear.

I didn’t even know what to think when I read tips like “Bring one or several towels” and “Bring one or several pairs of sneakers”.  Why would I need several towels and several sneakers??

With hours remaining, I kept thinking, “It’s SO COLD outside.  I’m shivering in my down-filled jacket.  How the heck am I going to roll around in snow for 5 minutes a time?”.  None of it mattered though because when it came time for show time, I treated this like everything else in travel – head on and with no regrets.

Getting steamy

What’s the science behind the Snow Bath you ask?  Well let me tell you.  It involves sweating like you’ve never sweat before.

After we changed into our swimwear and putting on our funny looking toque, all 60 of us moved into an enclosed trailer.  That’s when the music started thumping and an enthusiastic trainer up at front started busting out her Zumba moves.

We danced to the beat and tried our best to keep up with the choreographed chaos of moves involving fist pumping, hop steps, side-to-side turns, and swivels.  So imagine doing that non-stop for 40 minutes with 60 others in a small closed room with no escaping of air.

I was drenched in sweat at this point.

All out delirium in the snow

The clock struck 2PM and with the trailer door swinging open, a massive cloud of steam rushed straight in.  Like huskies rearing to bolt, the only thing I wanted to do was get out of that sauna.

As the first group out, we were greeted by a massive crowd in front of the snow-filled mound.  The music was blaring, Bonhomme giving us high fives, and the MC shouting who knows what.   As if by some sort of primal instinct (or perhaps just me following what everyone else was doing), we started jumping hysterically and dancing.

You know the funny thing is that at that point, because of the massive amounts of sweating, the delight of finally cooling off, and the crowds cheering us on, it really didn’t feel all that cold.

That first round lasted about 4 minutes.  Once our turn was over, we high-fived the second group coming out as we rushed back into the trailer to warm up.  I was all smiles at this point.

Second and third rounds were 6 minutes and 10 minutes respectively but were more or less the same.  Sure we were out there longer but all the same we were all jumping, dancing, and making beautiful snow angels.

What impressed me the most about it all was just how many veterans there were of the event.  Everyone had big numbers marked on their arm representing how many years they had done the Snow Bath.  I saw numbers as big as 23.  Amazing.

By the end of it all, I still couldn’t believe I did the Snow Bath.  Would I do it again?  Probably not.  But hey now I can say I’ve been crazy enough to be in my swim trunks in the deep of winter.

This article is part of the Quebec in the Winter series so make sure you check out my other posts on the unique sport of ice canoeing and extreme snow tubing at Valcartier .