Crampons and paddles, while not an obvious pairing, are both essential for one of Canada’s most unique sports — ice canoeing. Part rowing, part running, the sport began in the 17th century, as a necessary means of ferrying people and goods across the frozen St. Lawrence River. As the centuries passed, maritime technology improved and bridges were built, but ice canoeing remained a beloved local pastime and a key piece of Quebec’s cultural heritage.

Today, ice canoeing is a popular tourist activity in the region’s picturesque capital, Quebec City. Eager to try it for myself during a recent visit, I donned a woolly “toque” and signed up for an outing with local operators Canot à Glace Expérience.

Arriving at the company’s waterfront boathouse in a gentle snow flurry, I’m handed a steaming cup of tea and an armful of kit — everything from ice hockey-style knee pads and waterproof mittens to wetsuit socks and the trusty racing crampons.

“Teamwork and timing are going to be essential today,” explains my guide, Julien Harvey, a third-generation ice canoeist. “Out on the river, it’s all about mastering the transition between water and ice as smoothly as possible.”

That all-important “transition,” I learn, involves sliding your oar into the boat, then swinging a leg out to replace it. In tandem with your crewmates, you push with all your might, similar to starting a motorbike. Once you reach open water again, it’s legs in and oars out, just as swiftly.

The “scootering” across a solid mass is what sets ice-canoeing apart from other watersports, and competitive champions like Julien apart from his rivals. Add the strong currents and capricious winds of the St. Lawrence River, and you have a sport that’s both physical and unpredictable. To combat this, the boats are longer and heavier than standard canoes and have reinforced rubber-bottomed hulls that allow them to glide over ice and withstand heavy or unexpected impacts.

Fortunately, the snow has stopped, and the sky has sharpened itself into a deep midwinter blue as we push off for the far shore. There are three other curious tourists alongside me, with Julien steering from the stern.

We make our way across Quebec’s great tidal artery in this fashion, not feeling cold despite seeing our breath frosting as we toil. About half an hour later, we’re close to the shore and Julien steers us onto a particularly sturdy iceberg for a breather. Stepping out onto the ice, he produces a flask of hot cocoa to toast our achievement in a Canadian brouhaha of back slaps and high fives.

Gazing back at where we started, I’m struck by how truly beautiful Quebec City is. Nicknamed “The Paris of North America,” the grand old capital of New France looks like a fortified fairytale — all bristling spires and cobblestone streets, winding up to its magnificent clifftop citadel.

Like the rest of this picture-perfect place, ice canoeing is a unique, unforgettable means of getting deep into the city’s history. As we push and pull back to our starting point, warmed by both the cocoa and the views, it makes perfect sense to me that those early French settlers would want to fight for their futures here — even if that involved creating an entirely new means of transportation to do so.

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