This past weekend, a group of roughly 60 McGill students and McGill Outdoors Club (MOC) staff members headed to Auberge du Lac Priscault for the annual MOC Winter Olympics. Participants boarded a two-hour bus ride and braced themselves for a weekend of snow and sweat.   

Upon arrival, the students were grouped into six different teams and tasked with creating a group name and chant, creatively ranging from Ketchabasco to MAMASCAN. 

After this exciting introduction, the Olympians retreated to their bunk beds to rest up for the competition. On Feb. 1, the first event was a thrilling tournament of snowshoe racing, where participants had to sprint through an obstacle course as fast as possible in snowshoes while having snowballs hurled at them. Between the chanting, tripping, and heavy snow, the race was an intense start to the day. Shortly afterward, the groups were sent to start building their quinzees—shelters made of a hollowed-out pile of snow. After over an hour of digging and packing down snow, participants left for lunch while the quinzees froze over. 

Next on the agenda was Ice Man’s Revenge, an infamous take on tug-of-war, where participants are strapped into harnesses and tied to an opponent with a long rope. The aim is for opponents to use ice axes to climb away from each other on their stomachs and to pull the competitor across the boundary: A gruelling game that uses every ounce of strength participants have.  

Back at the quinzees, participants began digging the shelters out and polishing them into some impressive pieces of architecture. One quinzee was furnished with an ice fridge, others had non-stop Frank Sinatra playing for ambience. The night ended with some star-gazing and camp games, with competitors putting aside the competition and sharing some laughs and snacks.  

MOC President Zosia Stevenson, U3 Arts, and competitor Maya Cordano, U1 Arts, spoke on their experiences from the weekend.  

“Seeing a bunch of adults letting their inner child out and having fun outside was definitely the main highlight for me,” Stevenson said.

“It felt like being a kid again—running around in the snow—only better, since there was no curfew,” Cordano added.

In addition to the events, participants were also assigned to make and serve one meal during the trip. Competitors helped prepare wraps, burrito bowls, waffles, and much more. Chatting and listening to music while cooking was another way participants bonded and came together over the weekend. 

The final competition of the Olympics was a sled wheelbarrow relay race, where one participant had to plant their hands on a sled while being pushed in wheelbarrow position by a team member and weaved through an obstacle course of sleds and snowshoes. Competitors persevered past frozen fingers and toes to give everything for the finale. 

After a hectic and entertaining last event, the Olympians packed up their cabins while they awaited the final results. Tensions were high in the final ceremony and teams gave their all for one last chant. The team It’s Always Sunny in Plaiyadelphia took first place, with The Humble Horseshoe Hares and The Conservation of the Wenguins following closely behind. Team members happily received handmade trophies that resembled the MOC house. 

This fun-filled weekend would not have been possible without the work of the MOC executives and the amazing hosts at Auberge du Lac Priscault. They created the perfect environment for students to shake off the stress of midterms and build connections with other outdoor enthusiasts that they would not otherwise have had the chance to meet. 

“Going to the Winter Olympics was one of my defining McGill experiences,” participant Sam Rudin, U1Arts, shared in a written statement with The Tribune. “You had the opportunity to meet people with interesting experiences and to develop a bond centred around a core experience. It’s something that I will carry forward with me and cherish.”