Experience Exhilaration on a Thrilling Snowmobile Tour
A kilometre into our snowmobile tour and I'm a self-appointed expert.
I'm standing up on the sled to allow my whole body to absorb the shock of the undulating terrain and I'm leaning into and out of turns.
However, the fact is, I'm simply copying what guide Maxime Hudon is doing on his two-stroke Arctic Cat 10 metres ahead of me.
My wife, Kerry, and I are having a blast on this Outback Snowmobile Tours' expedition for beginners at Big White Ski Resort, 56 kilometres southeast of Kelowna, British Columbia.
Generally, we're hikers or snowshoers, but sometimes you just want to go fast and burn gas.
That's where the one-hour, introductory snowmobile tour comes in.
The snowmobile loop is a groomed trail through stunning snow-covered forest scenery.
It's an exhilarating zip along groomed trails through the pristine pine forest without the commitment of buying a snow machine and trailering it to the ideal high-elevation location.
We revel in the rush of gliding over the white stuff and admiring the scenery of snow-covered trees and surrounding mountain peaks.
At the half-way point, 10 kilometres in, we cut the engines at a viewpoint for the requisite photos and to soak in the surreal silence and the vistas.
The stop at the half-way point is for stretching the legs, taking in the view and hamming it up for the camera.
"The one-hour tour definitely attracts beginners who want a new adventure," says guide Maxime in his charming French Canadian accent.
"But we also have two-hour and four-hour tours for those who want to experience the backcountry even more."
Maxime drove, in a car, from Montreal in November to start his job at Outback with a passenger who paid him in Quebec maple syrup.
Maxime Hudon drove from Montreal to Kelowna (in a car) to start his new job at Outback Snowmobile Tours at Big White Ski Resort.
The one-hour tour is $149 and a passenger can come along on the back of the snowmobile for $79 or $49, if age 12 or under.
Outback also outfits you with a helmet and any cold-weather clothes and footwear you may need.
Big White is BC's third largest ski resort (behind Whistler Blackcomb and Sun Peaks near Kamloops) with 11-square-kilometres of skiable terrain serviced by 16 lifts and 119 runs.
However, it also has non-ski activities including the snowmobile tours, horse-drawn sleigh rides, dog sled tours and fat bike rentals.
Outback Snowmobile Tours operates one, two and four hour tours at Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna.
Check out BigWhite.com.