*This article appeared in The National Post
This winter hasn’t been exactly ideal for romancing in an igloo.
Temperatures in Quebec plunged, and the prospect of driving three hours northeast of Montreal for a getaway at the Ice Hotel was somewhat daunting.
The morning of our trip it was a cool minus 10. Dave and I climbed into the car decked in wool and synthetic blends, the under-layers advised on the hotel’s website. We also packed ski jackets and pants, hats, gloves, scarves and bathing suits as per instructions.
Hot love on ice seemed like such a great idea on paper: the website told of cocktails on the rocks, a four-course dinner and breakfast buffet, access to hot tubs and saunas, and a private candle-lit igloo for the night.
Yet on our way there, we realized our plans might be overly ambitious. We’d chosen
the Adventure Package, complete with ice fishing and dog-sledding. How many hours had we signed up to spend in minus-God-know-what anyway?
Then there was that worrisome itinerary note mentioning an available room at a nearby inn, in case we turned into popsicles during the night. And, of course, the plumbing question: Were the toilets made of ice too? Were there even toilets?
Our worries dissipated as we pulled into the Duchesnay tourist area, where signs pointed us to such activities as snowshoeing, snowmobiling, skating and tubing. An onsite spa offered exquisite pampering.
The Ice Hotel’s parking lot was jammed with cars and tourists, many piling off the 40-minute shuttle from Quebec City. With some spare time before our overnight information session, we joined a circulating queue ‹ including a number of high-school students from New Jersey ‹ heading through the grand frozen archway entrance, down long snowy corridors with ice walls that swept up 18 feet.
We learned that 20 builders had blown 15,000 tons of snow between stainless steel moldings and wooden frames, which were then frozen to create 36 rooms and suites, along with an ice café, an ice bar, an ice art gallery and an ice wedding chapel (20 vows are scheduled for exchange between January and March). Fifteen sculptors carved out castle-like ice thrones, looming snow-gargoyles and a whimsical ice slide during the massive three-phase building project. In all, 500 tons of ice were used.
The bedroom suites were where they showcase their skills. This year, there is a serpent-themed deluxe suite, a cozy love nest with fire-pit and even hockey suites for the visiting pee-wee league.
We followed the tour, stopping in an adventure-themed room the size of a modest bedroom, with a double-bed dropped in the centre and two ice tables on either end. Carved murals of hockey players adorned the walls. A strand of lights and a navy-blue bedspread ideal for a ten-year-old boy were the only non-ice objects.
The tour moved along as we stood in the cold, tiny room. We noticed the matching Room 34 on our key, and realized that this pre-pubescent experience would soon be ours.
At the information session, we were told to head to our ice chamber at 9 p.m. Any items we weren’t wearing should be tucked into our sleeping bags. Nothing was to be left on the floors or nightstands (a.k.a. icestands) since things get stuck easily. Before going to bed, we should use the hot tubs and sauna, dry off in the heated communal bathrooms and put on our layers. Then we had to make a mad dash back to the bedroom, dive into our sleeping bag, zip ourselves in and pass out as fast as possible.
The bar was open til lmidnight just in case.
Dinner was delicious, a four-course French meal at the adjacent Duschesnay Station Touristic inn, where the back-up rooms were available. Then it was back to the Ice Hotel, straight to the bar, where Euro-style dance mixes complete with changing pink and blue neon lights. Iced cider martinis were served and we chatted with tourists from Florida, England and Vermont.
After sufficient cocktails, Dave and I gathered our clothes and headed for the communal bathrooms, donned our swimsuits, then splashed into the hot tub for some alone time. We marvelled at the snow falling over our heads. I put on my furry Russian-style hat so my hair wouldn’t get wet before bed, and Dave wrapped a towel around his head.
By the time we’d dried off in the sauna and put on our gear, it was 1 a.m. Bedtime. We hightailed it to our respective sleeping bags. Dave pulled the drawstring hood around my face, tucked the nylon pillow under my head, kissed me and wished me sweet dreams.
Next thing we knew, it was morning. We’d made it!
We went and found our new friends at the breakfast buffet and patted one another on the back. Everyone said they’d slept comfortably, given that they were smushed inside an Arctic sleeping bag.
Dave and I took our hot chocolates over to the ice fishing lot. Temperature was an ambient minus 5. There, locals had already rolled out their lawn chair, casually manning an assortment of reels. We sat for an hour. When one fellow caught a trout, a small crowd gathered around him and hooted congratulations. We learned that before Jacques Debois, inspired by a trip to Sweden, opened the Ice Hotel nine years ago, the area was mostly known for cross-country skiing. Now, the Ice Hotel contributes $10-million for the local economy.
Even the dogs are benefiting from the Ice Hotel’s success. Inukshuk Adventures, a local dog-sledding tour company, has grown to 20 employees and 285 dogs. Worker pups include Huskie mixes and Northern Inuit Dogs, all with furry coats and charming dispositions.
Once used for mail runs, dog-sledding is now for sport and leisure. Popular in Alaska and northern Canada, sledding gives animal lovers the raw experience of hunting and exploration, without the killing.
I climbed into the sled chariot and Dave took the reigns, swooshing us over hills and around trees, dodging branches at 20 kilometres an hour. The puppies jumped through the snow and yelped with glee, clearly the happiest little workers in the north.
The scenery was spectacular; a black and white landscape against a dazzling blue sky. The noontime sun was high.
It takes much planning and effort to unleash nature’s magical potential. As Canadians sit around navel-gazing for the next few months, complaining about the cold, maybe they can muster up the energy to head outdoors again. Love will keep you warm.
Overnight packages at the Ice Hotel, or Hôtel de Glace, start at $325 a person. Visit icehotel-canada.com for more information.