Club 3A

Born in Saguenay, I grew up between the fjord and the mountains. Thereby, I was quite young when I was first put in contact with nature and wild spaces. It quickly became my playground and this is when I experienced my first adventures. Over time, I started dreaming about bigger challenges and I jumped into large-scale expeditions all over the world.

In 2010, I began my adventurer life in Greenland. With a friend, we planned a Nordic skiing expedition. The objective was to cross the Greenland polar cap in autonomy. Even though some things didn’t work out as planned, we spent a complete month skiing, pulling our sleds fully charged with the necessary food and equipment. We came back with new knowledge and a strong desire to leave for a new adventure. In 2013, after several months of preparation, we left for a kayaking expedition in the Northwest Passage. We paddled close to 3000 km in 60 days on the cold waters of the Canadian Arctic. Even today, although many attempts have been made, nobody succeeded to travel such a distance in a single summer. With all the experience acquired during my two first expeditions, I decided to make one more dream come true. In November 2016, I flew to the Antarctic and skied the 1200 km between the continental coast and the South Pole in full autonomy. On January 9th 2017, I became the first Canadian to complete this achievement, after a bit less than 43 days of skiing in freezing temperature.

Adventure became a true passion for me and I gave myself the mission to share the unexpected powers of the great outdoor  with youth in schools, through conferences and adventure story telling. Unfortunately, not everyone has the chance to leave for such adventures and this is why I decided to get involved with the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation. Allowing youth affected by cancer to take part in expeditions, the Foundation helps them access what I think is so precious and enriching about adventure.

After my first participation to the Double Défi des Deux Mario, I quickly understood the importance of the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation. Not only was I contributing to change their story and to give them new reasons to believe in their dreams, but I also had the chance to meet a few former participants, which I consider as an incredible privilege. These youth are an infinite source of motivation, an example of resilience, and they brought me a lot more than I could ever give back. Every little moment we discussed while skiing on lake Saint-Jean, every testimony they generously shared, makes me grow and proves me how strong therapeutic adventure is and how pertinent it is to continue supporting the Foundation so that even more youth can benefit these expeditions.

Sébastien is passionate about adventure. He attempted, in 2021, the crossing of the Réserve faunique des Laurentides by ski for the foundation, in collaboration with Olivier Hubert-Benoit. Since 2018, he’s also volunteering each year at the Double défi des deux Mario.