Temagami Outdoors fell off the map a little bit and here is why...
Maybe you have noticed that we haven't been super present on social media and it taking us a long time to reply to emails/phone calls and the like. We apologize profusely but there is a reason and trust us its not what you think.
After a long and extremely busy ice fishing season we decided that we deserved a little inexpensive trip. Both of us adore skiing and thus we decided to go to the Eastern townships of Quebec or more specifically Mont Sutton for a couple days of much needed and well deserved discounted spring skiing. We booked a small little boutique motel room that fulfilled our needs and provided lift packages scurried to take all the bungalows off of the lake and then packed the truck and headed on our 8 hour road trip.
Upon arrival we checked into our lovely and small hotel room and began planning and scheming for the next days ski adventure. We went to the IGA down the road and loaded up on a ton of delicious french cheeses and snacks to sustain us through our days of skiing and evenings of relaxation! Our first day of skiing was absolutely beautiful and although it had been over a year since we had strapped ski's on we both felt so comfortable and enjoyed the runs thoroughly. But here is the thing about Mont Sutton-it is not a beginner friendly hill, if you were looking for beginner friendly you likely would go to Bromont down the way. We ate hot dogs and poutine in the chalet for lunch and overall had a lovely but physically demanding time!
The physical demands of skiing don't matter as much when your hotel has a heated pool, hot tub and sauna on site and we made sure to take advantage of those amenities that evening after skiing. We then went on to a popular brew house and pub and had some amazing pub food. Poutine twice in one day is fine when you are on vacation in Quebec right?
The next day we woke up with sore muscles and sleepy eyes but we shook it off and went to the hill for a day that was sure to be amazing since it was warm and sunny and the best lifts were open! It was a slow start with many breaks but we were happy with our time on the hill. After a tailgate lunch we went up the lift and I said to Rielly "Lets go down this run under the lift, it is in great shape and looks fast'. He agreed and we turned off the lift and headed down.
If I could go back in time this is where I would go. The conditions were amazing for spring skiing, my soreness had largely dissipated and my 25 years of skiing muscle memory had all caught up to me. I was a bird! I was flying down the run and boy was it the best run of the day. Until it wasn't. I went over a lip, my right ski caught an edge and turned right and decided it was not going to stop going right. I heard a pop and crunch and before I knew it I was sliding headfirst down the hill with my ski's dragging behind me acting like some sort of medieval torture brake.
I'd be lying if I said I remember any of the next 24 hours in vivid detail but I do remember ski patrol loading me up and bringing me down the hill, Rielly loading me into the truck and driving down the highway to the Cowansville hospital and being triaged extremely quickly. I was in denial and truly thought my knee cap had been dislocated and they would put it back into place and bob's your uncle.
Nope.
The prognosis was far worse than I had anticipated. After many painful xrays, an MRI and being poked and prodded I found out I was dealing with a Tibial Plateau fracture that would be requiring surgery. Originally the prognosis was filled with promises of skin grafts, bone grafts, multiple surgeries... But once they finally got to look in my leg it was positive and it was determined for the time being one surgery and no grafts would do the trick. After a few days of laying in a hospital in Quebec it was time for the trek back to Temagami.
We took 3 days to get home and it's been all about the recovery since then. This is a super unique and frustrating injury and until recently it has been extremely difficult to concentrate on anything never mind work requirements. I want to take a moment to apologize to anyone who has sent emails to be left unanswered for weeks at a time, or that has sent a message over social media. Over the next two weeks I will be reaching out to make sure everyone's 2024 bookings are appropriate.
Thank you for making the 2023 season a memorable, full and enjoyable season for us! Stay tuned for some updates as we begin adding open water offerings to our repertoire.
Cheers,
Dom