Nature, sports and outdoor activities

The Yooner: An Exciting Activity to Try this Winter

Tested and recommended by the TCE Team

Published on Feb 12, 2020

We had talked about it often, but we hadn’t yet tried it. This is why I recently headed out to Mont SUTTON, with my colleague Sarah, to test their yooner, a funny looking contraption, almost easier to manoeuvre than to explain how!

By Jessie Jolin

But What Exactly is a Yooner?

So… Where to start? The body? A seat, 20 cm from the ground, mounted on a mini-ski with a stick—handle attached to the frame to help control it. The brakes? Your feet, flat on the snow, as you slide down the hill, with more or less pressure, depending on how fast you want to go. The steering system? Your upper body as you bend to the left or to the right. The stabilizer? Your hands, which lightly brush over the snow-covered ground. The suspension? A coil spring under the seat which helps make the ride more comfortable. The inflatable cushion in case of skidding? The snow on the ground. The sound system? The exclamations and laughter of your sliding companions!

If you’re having some difficulty visualizing the integral design of a yooner, here’s a little video to give you an idea of what to expect.


“We’re the first in all of Canada to offer this experience” Nadya Baron, Marketing Manager for the Mont SUTTON ski centre, proudly stated! She accompanied us throughout our discovery morning. She continued to explain, “With the yooner, we hope to diversify our mountain’s fun gliding activities. It’s a great activity to add to a day of skiing.”

Let’s hit the trails!

Leaving Mont SUTTON’s rental centre, holding our yooners in our hands (the device is surprisingly light), we headed to the chairlift and waited for our turn to get on, and rode up to the top of the mountain along with the other skiers. The lift’s detachable system picked us up smoothly and safely by giving us enough time to settle on our seats. Getting off was just as smooth.

Following the advice of our guide, Louis-Martin, we headed down on the Alouette, an easy trail, perfect for familiarizing ourselves with this new glide sport. Having been a skier since a very young age, I felt a bit shaky as I took my first turns, but very quickly I found my bearings. The same was true for my colleague Sarah who isn’t as familiar with glide sports. After a first descent, we were already mastering the technique fairly well. It just goes to show how quickly you can learn to control a yooner!

Throughout our many runs, we attracted the curiosity of the skiers with whom we shared the slope. More and more at ease on our yooners, we headed down faster and even had a little fun on some of the small jumps along the trails. By the end of the morning, we were won over!


Good to know!

  • Mont SUTTON authorizes you to use all the trails reached by taking the number 2 chairlift, this means about ten rated easy or intermediate trails.
  • Renting a yooner for a 2-hour block costs $20 and the access ticket (for chairlift number 2), $30. You can also rent a yooner on the last operating hour (3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.) at a lower price.
  • To try a yooner you must be at least 8 years old.

Jessie Jolin

I’m the content coordinator for Eastern Townships Tourism and an avid outdoors and sports enthusiast. Always on the lookout for new places and experiences, along with my Lover, we travel throughout the province and especially in the Eastern Townships, hoping to find the best places for playing outside. Follow me on my outdoor adventures!
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