This display mode is not optimized for keyboard navigation or screen reader use.

Go to Content Go to Simplified version

Prologue

THE STORM

The day the snow made everything stand still

Access the simplified version

Several cars are stopped in traffic. Heavy snowflakes are falling, covering the road.

“Special broadcast! The winter storm that dumped 40 cm of snow over southern Quebec continues unabated. We’ve lost count of the number of vehicles that have ran off the road....”

That’s nothing!
I’ve been through some storms myself.

A woman sits at the wheel of one of the cars stuck in traffic. Her grandfather is in the passenger seat, smiling.

Please, Grandpa! Stop it with your storms! We haven’t moved an inch in the past hour.

Close-up of the car radio. There is a breaking news segment on the radio.

“Snow accumulation has caused a huge pile-up on Highway 10.”

The grandfather talks, looking out of the window with a nostalgic look on his face. The woman looks at him, indifferent, even annoyed.

To think that we’re just a few kilometres away from the Musée de l’ingéniosité J. Armand Bombardier.

So what?

The grandfather is still looking out of the window, his eyes filled with nostalgia.

Oh well... that looks like a snowmobile.

A blue vehicle passes beside the car, with skis at the front, an engine at the back and rear wheels with tracks (it's a snowmobile). The whole thing looks like a submarine or an old bus.

You mean a ski-doo?

No, darling! Snowmobile! These snowmobiles from the old days were vehicles that could weather any storm!

The grandfather speaks with a smile, a cornered look and a proud face. The woman has a slightly teasing face.

Joseph-Armand Bombardier revolutionized winter with his invention.

Well, your Mr. Bombardier isn’t doing us much good today.