Taureau – A Quebec Classic
This fall OPS paddlers Philip Kompass and Mike McKay did a mid week run of the classic whitewater section of the Jacques Cartier river, the Taureau. For years the Taureau has been recognized as one of the premiere rivers in the east, possibly the best. With stunning scenery, remote wilderness, and over 20 kilometres of class 4-5 whitewater, it is a hard river to beat.
Jacques Cartier National Park (JCNP) is a beautiful wilderness area located about 30 minutes north of Quebec City. The shuttle drive on the Taureau is a bit of a monster, taking roughly 2 hours each way. The shuttle can be split into two halves – the first portion is from the highway to the take out inside JCNP. The second is from the gates of JCNP up to the put in. On this trip, we only took one car, but thankfully you can hire a local dog sled outfitter (www.traineaux-chiens.com) to drive the second portion (JCNP to Put In) and drop you at the put in, and return your car to his business near the entrance to the park. You should call ahead to make sure he is available. On finishing the river, you either need a second car or hope to thumb a ride.
After a night pirate camping at JCNP, we met with Pascal and began the shuttle. In order to get an early start we decided to eat breakfast at the put-in prior to getting underway, and just brought the stove and food with us as a safety precaution. The Taureau – even though it is done often – is not to be taken lightly. Injuries or equipment failure can cause huge problems, as there is no mid-point road access and egress from the canyon would be next to impossible. We lucked out, and the fall weather was spectacular and we were able to enjoy the sun for the entire day.
The river starts with a long section of class 3-4 rapids until you reach the first significant drop (Le Veau / The Calf?). This rapid is a double drop with a beautiful fade boof in the middle. Sweet start to the day.
Next up is Triple Drop. A class five drop with some potential consequence if you aren’t on your game. It stacks up around 40 feet in total and at this flow had a sneaky hole to contend with early, and a mid point 6 footer into (hopefully over) a sticky backed up hole. We both cleaned it, running it blue angel.
The river begins to narrow at that point and consists of more ledge style drops. The highlight of this section….ballerina, a beautiful 2 stage rapid that we ran blind. It couldn’t have gone better.
Team OPS - Taureau - Ballerina from Five2Nine Productions on Vimeo.
OPS - Taureau - Ballerina from Five2Nine Productions on Vimeo.
A major tributary, the Launiere, joins the Taureau on river right at roughly the mid-point of the day, bring the flow up substantially. After a portage around a sieve drop we entered into the hardest section of the river. From this point the canyon closes in, the rapids become much more challenging and start stacking up. With just the two of us we had to rely on each other in case anything went wrong. Luckily, all was great, and mostly edge-of-your-seat boat scouting and bad memory from a run five years ago got us through safely.
After the last significant rapid, Coming Home Mohammed, the gradient begins to taper off and the scenery is stunning.
Take a look behind you and you will see what you have just paddled down, and around. Huge granite domes dominate the landscape; lay back, float and soak some of this in. You’ll have a great feeling of accomplishment by this point, enjoy it.
Again, This river has alot of exposure. Remember your safety kits, breakdown paddle, extra food and bring some emergency supplies as an unplanned night out is a real possibility in there.
Check out some more of what Quebec has to offer here:
Currents - Episode 7 - Quebec from Five2Nine Productions on Vimeo.
Equipment List:
L Level Six Reign Drytopand Pants
Stohlquist Descent PFD
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