Vitals
- Locale: Sainte Adele, Quebec
- What It's Like: High quality bedrock pool-drop, one of the best runs in the area. Short, with one mandatory portage.
- Class: IV-V
- Scouting/Portaging: Easy to moderate.
- Level: Gauge found here.
- Time: 2-3 hours.
- When To Go: Late spring or after rain.
- Info From: Many visits.
- Other Beta: None.
- Map: Click here for a map of the shuttle.
Description
This page was last updated in January 2010 and it is not regularly maintained. Information may be inaccurate.
Here is some basic information about the Du Nord, a run found in the Laurentians north of Montreal. It is a nice run but the good section is quite short. The Doncaster is higher quality but needs more water to be runnable.
There is an online gauge here. We have run this river between 10 cms and 35 cms. Do not go below 10 cms unless you're desperate, and don't make a long drive for less than 15 cms. Higher is possible - above 35 cms is only recommended if you have previous experience on this run. 20-25 are optimal medium levels. The gauge is sometimes inaccurate.
The Du Nord is found about 1 hour north of Montreal along highway 15 on the way to Mont Tremblant. It is adjacent to the town of Sainte Adele. The local road network here is a nightmare and you have to be careful of where to park; many places are signed no parking. Use the map linked above to accurately find your way around. The takeout is a few km's east of Sainte Adele on route 370. The first, smaller river you pass over with a dam on the downstream side of the bridge is the Mulets. There is a "Riviere du Nord" sign at the bridge over the du Nord. Park unobtrusively on the downstream river right side in the gravel area. The key to finding the put in is to get on 3e Avenue. Follow this road down to water level - you will see the river (it will be flat) off to the right across a small swampy field. Park along the field, and keep a low profile. This is one of the only areas where there are no "no parking" signs along the river and around the lake it drains.
The du Nord is very pool-drop, and for the length of the shuttle it is quite short. From the start there will be two big rapids before you pass under a footbridge. Eddy out here on the left to scout a long rapid leading in to a small cascading waterfall. Pool-drop action continues - below the crack-waterfall-slide get out and portage on the right. This is a huge drop that has supposedly only been run once. Immediately following this is big boulder garden - its start is indicated by a massive boulder in the middle of the river. If it is not to your liking - it is a step up from the rest of the run - continue portaging down the right. Below here are some ledges and boulder rapids, one with a horrible sieve smack in the middle of the main flow. Things quickly subside to splashy class III and then flat water to the take out bridge.
Once you know the Du Nord, or even if you don't know it well, it is a great run to do in combination with the nearby Doncaster, or any of the other rivers in the area if the flows are right. The du Nord is one of the last ones to drop out.
The infallible Dan Drost rides the lightning on the du Nord.
Updated Jan 14, 2010
