Kluane
2025
YUKON
Far from cell service and deep into Canada's tallest national park, a team of 5 spent three weeks camping on glacial ice in search of skiing unnamed lines that would never be skied again.
The Journey
The most north western territory of Canada is home to the Kluane National Park and the tallest mountain in the country. With a large portion of it's visitors entering Kluane to experience Mt Logan, our trip was focused on Freeriding in this breathtaking terrain.
Venturing deep into the backcountry via light aircraft was a new experience for us. It took two planes to get the whole crew to our destination, packed full of gear for a two week basecamp. With a fixed location throughout our trip, we were able to pack some luxuries that made our stay a lot more comfortable and helped to slow our descent into insanity. A propane stove, a selection of games and a speaker kept us in touch with reality after the temps began to drop. Flying into the range, we passed ever growing peaks lined with jaw dropping glacial ice. We were 'out there'.
The Reality
Living in exposed terrain comes with consequences.
Being in remote terrain requires more than the traditional shovel, beacon and probe. Avalanches are always a real risk but the reality of these areas are that there is a long list of problems to consider at every turn. Temperature, route, visibility, crevasse, serac, gas, food, water, weather - a mistake in any of these areas could be life threatening. While you are awake and moving, a break in risk management is not an option. Any travel in the mountains required a roped partner, a few kilograms of gear and a clear head. Our team had a lifetime of experience in the mountains and we used every bit of it.
The Location
Everyone has a different idea of what 'Big Mountains' are. Living in Whistler, BC usually means we have a pretty good idea of what we are getting into. Flying into Kluane, every one of us was speechless. Massive peaks standing tall above the 1000m deep glaciers in the valley left us lost in wonder for the duration of the trip.
Some of these mountains have mountains. Ridge lines would continue indefinitely, winding upwards until they somehow found their way to a nearby peak. We would catch ourselves with our eyes dancing across the countless features of these immense rocky shards picking out dream lines or simply digesting the fused ice and rock that created our surroundings. 360 degrees of breathtaking natural beauty that held in it more danger than one could fathom. It was a surreal place that will live in our dreams and continue to shape our view of the planet we live on.
COMPLEX
Glaciers are things that we learn about in books at school. One day, some of us will get to experience one in person and witness the beautiful, vivid blue hues that are derived from the immense density of their crystaline structure. As someone who has been around glaciers more than a few times, it is clear that what lives in the Kluane National Park is on a totally different scale to it's more southern siblings. Bus-sized scraps are disguarded by overhanging seracs all day and night, reverberating through the nearby rocks and shaking us to the core.
TERRAIN
The Goods
While most who visit Kluane are in search of Canada's highest and most prestigious peaks, we came for the snowy gullies and faces that lie below them. Traveling to an area nicknamed 'The Bowls of Plenty', local airfield Icefield Discovery made us aware that we were the first group of skiers to approach the area, making much of what we skied a first descent for these unnamed lines.
With a balance of caution and stoke, we mapped out our zones of interest in the chilly evenings spent inside our cook tent. We quickly found that long daylight hours and drawn out sunsets changed the way that sun affected our snowpack. West-facing aspects were reactive while some northerly zones were hard packed. If we had been limited by options, this might have given us some problems but we found an abundance of dream lines with stellar snow. From steep couloirs to low angle pow, we had a good time leaving our mark on this zone.
The Rest
After returning from Kluane, earthquake activity soon hit the area, tearing the landscape we knew to pieces with landslides that moved for kilometres. What was likely the first ski descent of many lines from our trip may have also been the last. The landscape as we knew it has been changed forever. We were incredibly lucky to document Kluane's fleeting beauty in this series and eternally grateful for our safe passage through this incredible landscape.
