Safe Snowmobile Adventure Riding with SPOT

It’s no secret that snowmobile riding – on and off groomed trails – has been exploding in popularity as pandemic-weary city dwellers seek new outdoor adventures. But escaping to the backcountry for outdoor riding adventures can mean limited or no cell service, raising safety concerns.
 
Pat Dubreuil, President and CEO of Magpie-Relay, a powersports resort located in the heart of Canada’s Northern Ontario landscape, has developed a business model geared to the adventure snowmobile community. He offers newcomers to the sport, as well as experienced snowmobile riders, curated adventures that include everything from safety gear for tracking, mapping and emergency notification, to pre-mapped trails to navigate, and nearby accommodation recommendations for meals and overnight stays.
 
“Clients are coming to us for packaged offroad adventures, but want safety and peace of mind,” says Dubreuil.  “We’ve mapped backcountry assets including logging roads and links between northern communities, to offer snowmobile adventure riders the freedom to explore.”


  For safety, riders carry SPOT X Satellite Messengers. Before heading out on a ride, they provide Pat’s team with links to their online SPOT Mapping service which the team uses to track their route and progress. In case of emergency, SPOT also ensures the riders have 24/7 access to emergency responders at the push of a button.
 
“In some cases, there are up to 150 kilometers of trails between communities, with really nothing in between. For solo adventure riders, they have the peace of mind of knowing that we’re tracking their route of travel via regular waypoints using SPOT Mapping. Before using SPOT, we’d have to go looking for a rider if they didn’t arrive on time. Now if a rider needs help from any location along the way, they can ping us from their SPOT
device and we can send help.”
 
With more than 8,000 rescues worldwide initiated by SPOT, a third of which have taken place in Canada, SPOT satellite devices are a proven, essential piece of safety gear. For Magpie Relays, SPOT provides a vital line of communication, tracking and mapping services that has been a key to success.
 
As Pat Dubreuil says, “You can disappear in Northern Ontario if you’re not careful.” He’s ensuring his customers stay found with SPOT.