 It is not known exactly when he decided to spend the winter of 1535–1536 in Stadacona, and it was by then too late to return to France.Cartier and his men prepared for the winter by strengthening their fort, stacking firewood, and salting down game and fish.From mid-November 1535 to mid-April 1536, the French fleet lay frozen solid at the mouth of the St. Charles River, under the Rock of Quebec.