The Canadian Ski-Doo

After spending nearly 2 hours searching for that perfect photo, I gave in and resorted to the only two flickr photos I have posted of the wonderful Village of Villeneuve, Switzerland. So what does the Villeneuve have to do with the Ski-Doo? Besides being a wonderful backdrop for beautiful views around Switzerland, it's also the home of one of the offices of Bombardier.

You see Bombardier wouldn't be in Villeneuve if it weren't for Joseph A. Bombardier, a Canadian, and his invention of the Ski-Doo in 1922, at the ripe old age of 15 years of age. Be sure to check out the link to see the first ski-doos. Bombardier Inc. was founded by Joseph-Armand Bombardier as L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée in 1942, at Valcourt in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

Today Bombardier is a large manufacturer of regional aircraft, business jets, rail transportation equipment, recreational equipment and a financial services provider. Its headquarters are in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and has two additional offices in Switzerland.

If you happen to be visiting Quebec, perhaps the Bombardier Museum might be of interest to you. The large modern museum is located in Valcourt, Quebec and is dedicated to the life of Joseph-Armand Bombardier and the snowmobile as well as the industry he helped create.

The museum has been professionally curated and features a wide array of Ski-Doos and other industrial designs as well as a selection of books, booklets and other items of interest to ski-doo enthusiasts. The present museum is actually located blocks away from the huge, present-day Bombardier Recreational Products factory.

For me, the bombardier museum exists in Villeneuve. It's the building overlooking the start of the mountains which leads to the Col De Jaman, certainly a spectacular site to see in person. I remember being in awe finding the building for the first time along my journeys venturing into villeneuve back in June 2002. For that previledge of already identifying with the company made me appreciate the spectacular backdrop of the stunning Lac Leman.

What a great story behind something that I already appreciated when I found it in Switzerland. However, it has come back to me here in Canada once again after learning the ties between Canada and Switzerland and the first ski-doo.