Free
participation!

There are only 116 days! Apply

Date of the Expedition

From March 6 to March 14, 2026

Registration Deadline

31 January 2026

Activity

Backcountry Skiing

Place

Monts-Valin

Age Group

19 to 29 years old

  • In remission

Number of Participants

14 maximum

Description

This expedition will offer This expedition will offer to 14 young adults aged 19 to 29 in cancer remission the chance to experience an extraordinary winter adventure with a group of peers from across the country.

The group will be welcomed in Quebec City. After spending one night at a hotel, we’ll board a minibus for the journey to Homamo Outfitter. At the end of the road, we’ll cover the final 20 km by snowmobile, as the outfitter is not accessible by road during the winter. The cabins at the outfitter will serve as our base camp for the first two nights, giving us time to acclimate to the environment and the new equipment.

 

We’ll take a full day to learn how to set up our tents and wood stoves, test our skis, and pack our expedition gear. The next day, our real expedition begins on the frozen lake: four nights and five days of Hok-skiing through a network of trails and lakes, discovering a region known for its record-breaking snowfalls. We’ll move as a group, skiing with our daypacks (approximate weight 15 lb). All essential gear for cooking, sleeping, and drying off in the evenings will be transported by our support team on snowmobiles.

 

Each day, with the help of our guides and logistics team, we’ll build our winter tent village to set up our new camp for the night. These wood-heated tents can shelter 4 to 5 people. Our days and evenings will be filled with group discussions, games, quiet moments of reflection, and connection to everything around us—nature, wildlife, and one another.

 

Everyone’s participation will be essential to the success of this adventure. There’s a lot to do in such an expedition: meal preparation, dishwashing, setting up toilets, feeding the wood stoves, and managing drinking water… You’ll become familiar with these new winter wilderness living skills.

 

Our route should allow us to reach the parking area where our vehicles will be waiting after five days. At the end of the expedition, we’ll head to Saguenay, where we’ll spend one last night together in comfortable lodging, where you’ll be able to enjoy a hot shower before we celebrate our achievement. The following day, we’ll drive back to Quebec City, where everyone can begin their journey home.

Expedition Members

On each expedition team there are two adventure facilitators whose role is to ensure the smooth running of all the activities. They are supported by a medical team – composed of a physician, a nurse and a social worker – whose shared mission is to ensure the good health of all members of the expedition. In addition to these experts, the team includes professional guides and a logistic team – with extensive knowledge of the activity as well as the area covered by the expedition – and a blogger responsible for capturing every moment of this great adventure in words and images.

Geography and History

A majestic winter territory awaits us on this expedition. Homamo Outfitter is located on Lake Itomamo, in the heart of the Monts-Valin region. The Monts-Valin are a mountain range bordering the Pipmuacan Reservoir. The terrain is rugged, with peaks reaching altitudes of over 1,000 meters. The territory of the Homamo Outfitter lies within this mountainous area, which is primarily covered in boreal forest, featuring a wide variety of trees such as black spruce, white pine, and birch. One of the natural treasures of this region is its diverse wildlife.

You’ll find moose, white-tailed deer, lynx, beavers, as well as numerous bird species like ruffed grouse and spruce grouse. The area’s lakes and rivers are also rich in fish, including trout and walleye.

 

Before the arrival of Europeans, the Monts-Valin territory was inhabited by Indigenous peoples. The region was part of the ancestral land of the Innu (also known as Montagnais), who occupied the vast area around Lac Saint-Jean and beyond. The Innu used the forests and rivers for hunting, fishing, and gathering. The history of the Monts-Valin and the surrounding region is marked by a balance between natural resource exploitation (wood, fur, water) and a deep respect for nature, influenced by the Innu and later efforts toward sustainable land management.

Schedule

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Are you interested in this expedition? Complete the registration form here.

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