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John Baldwin

John Baldwin Interview: Multi-Week Ski Traverses, Exploring Canada’s Coast Mountains, Creating Ski Maps and Guidebooks, Modern Navigation…

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John Baldwin is arguably one of the greatest pure North American explorers. He has chosen to do most of his travels on skis and has authored several books and maps so others can experience the great Canadian wilderness with a bit of guidance.

Over the years, I have had the great pleasure of skiing and hiking with John Baldwin and Linda Bily, John’s wife, on several occasions and we always had plenty of fun.

John and Linda are probably best described by their own quote from their book Soul of Wilderness:

Ours are not heart-stopping tales of conquest and hardship…. The purpose of our trips is simply to see as many of these special places as we can.

Note: All images are copyrighted by John Baldwin and Linda Bily, and were used with their permission.

John Baldwin’s Guidebooks and Maps

John on one of his earlier ski traverses on Lillooet Icefield.

John has authored several books, including ski guide books and maps, that focus on his beloved Coast Mountains and western British Columbia.

People’s most popular publication of his has been the Exploring the Coast Mountains on Skis that is a superb guide to ski mountaineering in the Coast Mountains of western British Columbia from the Washington border to the Alaska panhandle.

For a full list of John’s books, maps and online purchase visit his website JohnBaldwin.ca.

Interview with John Baldwin

Q: Whether it is a multi-week ski traverse or just a day trip, what is most important to have a remarkable mountain experience?

There is a term called forest bathing that has become more popular recently. I think this is a big component of ski touring – you might call it mountain bathing or snow bathing.

I think moving through the mountains on skis is a great way to connect with nature and the outdoors. I feel that a sense of wonder and gratitude for the mountains are part of this.

Q: I remember when we met for the first time… both of us skiing solo in the mountains above Vancouver. I was new to Canada but already studying your ski guidebook. You quickly became my inspiration for exploring. Who were the people that inspired you and in which ways?

There are many levels to answer that question…

There were the people that helped me to learn how to go into the mountains – my leaders in Scouts, my high school French Teacher Hans Fenz.

Then there are people who inspired me by their mountain activities – Don and Phyllis Munday, Dick Culbert and Glenn Woodsworth, John Clarke, Chic Scott, Galen Rowell. All of these people had an idea that grabbed them and they followed that idea with passion.

It’s good to be curious about life – that is something I learned from my father and it’s good to appreciate the beauty in life – that is something I learned from my mother.

The most important lesson is to follow your heart.

Q: You have created and published your books and maps with little outside help. You self-thought most of the skills you needed. Is this an obvious extension of your wilderness adventures? Do you like to be self-reliant in all aspects of life?

That is partly true, I like a hands on approach when I do things. I enjoy the learning and exposure to all kinds of things that comes from that. At the same time, I did rely on others with some of the technical aspects of publishing and using complicated mapping and graphic design software.

Also, when you are doing something for the first time – either in the mountains or writing for example – you have to follow your own vision because there is no else to follow.

Skiing over the wast Juneau Icefield that crosses the Canadian boarder with Alaska and extends 140 km north to south and 75 km east to west.

Q: You have dedicated your life to exploring Canadian Coast Mountains which line the west coast of British Columbia for hundreds if kilometres. What lured you specifically to them for so long?

The simple answer is that I grew up in Vancouver staring at the southern end of the Coast Mountains and became curious about what lay up there.

I fell in love with the magnificent land that lay hidden in the clouds. And it has taken most of my life to just get to some of their most amazing places.

I didn’t consciously ignore other places or activities, I just did what I wanted to do most at each step of the way.

John at a camp on Homathko Icefield with Mount Waddington, the highest mountain in British Columbia behind by LB

Q: During all your long remote expeditions, your groups have never had a major accident. How did you manage that? You survived a massive fall in your twenties, was that an early wake-up call?

Many of my trips were before satellite phones, and Spot or InReach devices. It was essential to plan each trip carefully.

The mountains are very powerful. It is important to be respectful and appreciate that when you are in them. Yes, I suppose in a way, falling off the mountain helped me appreciate that. One wrong step and you can fall 500m!

You don’t need to be afraid and fearful when you are in the mountains but you do need to be aware of what you are doing and where you are.

Q: You have an incredible sense for reading terrain and interpreting a map. Is this something you have always had, or it has naturally developed within you over the years?

I am an engineer and I have always been good at map reading and visualizing things in three dimensions. Staring at maps and using them to constantly navigate through new terrain has also helped immensely.

I think we also have an innate sense of terrain in all of us. We have been travelling over the earth for millions of years and we are meant to do that.

Q: Do you use Google Earth or other modern applications?
I use it a lot for inspiration and researching new ideas. Once outside, I prefer to read terrain and look at a paper map or phone map occasionally, mostly without compass or GPS. You could say, I am trying to be romantic about it…

Absolutely, Google Earth is amazing! To be able to see the landscape in such detail is incredible… But there are limitations – it often doesn’t show crevasses very well and like a map you still need experience to really be able to read the terrain well.

I strictly use Google Earth for planning and it’s fun to look at for new areas. It has also been invaluable for making my ski touring maps. I also use caltopo.com and hillmap.com, which are really useful online mapping tools that can translate from a map to a satellite image.

Q: Do you think that those who rely a lot on modern navigational tools – phone apps with GPS, or simply following a downloaded GPS track – are robing themselves of a more profound experience? Aren’t these modern tools making us a bit dumber perhaps?

There are no rules, use whatever works for you. I do agree with you that overusing modern navigational tools will not help you learn how to interpret terrain.

My advice is to always try and estimate where you are before you use a GPS and see how well you did. That way you will learn.

Most ski traverses in Canada start and end with long walks in the wild forests or valleys.

When GPS devices first came out I used to race a friend and his GPS to see who could estimate our location faster. I often would win (and back then when the GPS signals were weaker, I was often more accurate).

Ski routes are not hiking trails and their GPS tracks cannot be followed like a video game. You need to be constantly looking around and assessing avalanche conditions, crevasses, changing micro terrain, rocks etc.

With practice you should be able to look at a map in the morning and know where you are for most of the day and only need to refer to the map when there are very specific spots that you need to navigate through.

Q: I know that you prepare most of your expedition food at home. Do you use any sports bars or store freeze-dry food?

I sometimes use nutrition bars on day trips but I don’t like most of them.

For longer trips, I usually make up my own snacks. For meals, I will use some freeze dried ingredients but never freeze dried meals in a bag.

Q: How much food in weight do you bring per person on a week-long ski traverse? What is most important to you about the food you bring?

The old rule was about 900g (2lbs) per person per day.

It’s important to bring healthy nutritious food that you like. You can make your own simple meals that cook relatively quickly. I have never lost weight on any three week trip.

Backpacks for only even a week-long ski traverse easily weigh 20-25kg (50lbs) as one needs to carry, on top of the food, also a sleeping bag, pad, tent, cooking stove… For more technical traverses, add glacier and mountaineering gear, and soon you are at 30kg (65lbs).

Q: You have managed to organize your life to have plenty of time for adventuring. Despite living close to Vancouver’s downtown, you live simply. Have you ever thought about living in a small town?

First off, I grew up in Vancouver, so that is my home and that is a big part of why I live here. I also love living near the ocean – I feel it is like the base for the Coast Mountains.

I have thought about living in a small town but I was never able to find work there so it never happened. I also find that when I am in the city that I only live in a small part of it, and can ride my bike and do most errands locally so that it feels a lot like a small town.

Q: When you are stuck on a big glacier in a storm, how do you spend the time? Do you read books?

People pay big money to go on meditation retreats. Just think of a storm day as a free retreat 🙂
It’s good for you to have time to just daydream and rest.

I often bring a book for storm days. I enjoy books about the true stories about people and parts of BC. I would trade books with others in the tent too.

John digging out the tent once again during 5 day storm on Juneau Icefield.

Q: What projects are currently occupying you? Any new trips or books in the plans?

In the summer, I was busy going through all my old photos for Chic Scott who wrote a biography about me for the Alpine Club of Canada Summit Series. The pdf is available free online or you can order a printed copy.

Now, I am reprinting some maps right now with some small updates. I am also doing another printing of my guidebook.

Then I am always planning trips and looking at maps and Google Earth. And I have been sewing a new ski touring day pack as I love making things.

Game Changers 3-article series: Interesting ski tourers answer “What is the one event that changed or influenced the way you do (or approach) your ski adventures now?”

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game changer even
Thanks to an unknown author for this photo - it really captures the essence that something is about to profoundly change 🙂
After talking about gear game changers and people that influenced their skiing Greg Hill, Melanie Bernier, John Baldwin and Christina Lusti answer the 3rd and final question in this series. As before, I am attaching my answer at the end.
I hope that you enjoy these articles because the people answering seem to like it a lot. If you do spread the word cause it’s likely your friends would enjoy it too.
And share what event influenced YOUR ski adventures – you can do so via comments section at the end of this article.

3rd question: What is the one event that changed or influenced your ski adventures (whether that be touring or racing)?

Greg Hill says (http://www.greghill.ca):
I skied from aged two; it was a passion from the start – ski racing, jumps just having fun on the slopes. I recall in Grade 3 being extremely excited because I had skied more than 60 days that year. The freedom of speed and fun of skiing was deeply ingrained in who I was.
I skied until I was 16 and then got taken up by rock climbing. All of a sudden skiing was second place and rock climbing was first. The incredible challenge, endless progression and exploration was all that I could think about.  For 6 years I rarely skied but climbed exclusively.
Then at 22 years old I dislocated my shoulder while rock climbing. All of a sudden this whole side of my life was taken away from me…which left me with a huge void. Then explorer in me had been awakened, the search for challenge had been continuous for so long that I needed it.
Greg Hill skiing.
So I set my sights on climbing and skiing mountains, this filled the void and more. Backcountry skiing was challenging physically, the development of my mountain sense mentally stimulating, the exploration endless. It was sad to lose the climbing but I gained so much more in return.
I started recognizing that I had more energy than most, that I could move quickly and efficiently through the mountains.  I would be standing on top of mountains looking at what I hoped would be our next run only to see that my partners were exhausted.
So I entered my first randonnee race in whistler, came in as a canadian should, mullet and leather jacket. Had a blast during the race and somehow ended up winning it. This prompted me to continue pushing my speed in the mountains to see what my potential was. Later that spring I returned and did the Spearhead Traverse in 4 hours 1 minute and really started to push the limits of the possible.
Since then I have pushed my endurance endlessly and loved the limits, I have progressed – so many traverses, mountains, new lines, huge days and great times.
Had my shoulder not dislocated I would have continued to have fun rock climbing but possibly I would not have developed into the mountain man I have become. I would have missed out on so many great adventures that I am almost happy it happened.
Now 14 years later I have a reconstructed shoulder and I am climbing again, which will inevitably help progress my technical limits of ski mountaineering.
Melanie Bernier says (http://inthetrails.blogspot.ca):
Back in 2010, a few of us from the Canadian National Ski Mountaineering Team stayed in Europe after racing the World Championships in Andorra to take part in a 4 days stage race – the Pierra Menta – in the small town of Areche-Beaufort in France.
Day after day, teamed in pairs we covered at great pace routes with around 2500m of climbing. This event really opened my eyes to what really is ski mountaineering racing, its roots and how respected and part of the culture it is in Europe.
Granted we suffered and pushed our limits but it was such a great feeling of accomplishment to work as a team, pace ourselves and cross the finish lines with a large smile at the end of each day. Coming to a summit with 1000 of spectators cheering was an experience I will never forget. This event and skiing in Europe all together has forever changed my vision of racing and even skiing in the backcountry.
In this video from 2012 (in around 1min) you can see what kind of atmosphere Melanie is excited about:

John Baldwin says (http://www.johnbaldwin.ca):
It was on my second long ski traverse in the Coast Mountains. We were trying to complete a 3 to 4 week ski trip from Ape Lake to Knight Inlet across the Monarch and Ha-iltzuk Icefields, west of Mt. Waddington, BC.
The last quarter of the trip goes through some really rugged terrain with steep slopes and big icefalls. A big storm moved in with tons of new snow. I started to worry about whether the conditions would be good enough for us to finish the trip (there were no other escape routes).  But at some point I had this intuition that it would work out. You could say I was learning to listen to the mountains and what was in my heart.
It is something I have always tried to do in difficult situations. It’s not always easy to do but I think it’s very important to listen to the mountains and the earth.
Christina Lusti says (http://christinalusti.wordpress.com):
ACL reconstruction on my knee . . . sad to say there was more than one surgery L. But this was the event that made me decide to step away from ski racing and start a new career in ski guiding and ski mountaineering.
The injury motivated me to get strong and walk/ski away from the competitive sport of alpine ski racing 4 years ago. Since then it has been winters full of Adventure School, Coaching, Training, and exploring the steep alpine . . . no regrets!
Stano Faban (Skintrack.com):
The one event that changed my approach, or I should say “understanding”, of skiing didn’t happen during a specific experience or on a certain day. It is actually still happening. It is an ongoing event since it is a perception changer for me, fueled by constant learning and curiosity.
To hopefully demystify and clarify – the terrain, and people I met and keep meeting while backcountry skiing after moving to Canada are responsible for this ongoing event.
Skiing before was fun, was a sport, was a great way to explore, but in no way I would understand how much it could affect people’s lives. How fulfilling it could be.
It didn’t start happening right after I moved but couple years later. I guess, I needed to meet the right people first J. Run after run, trip after trip, winter after winter, I started to understand why anyone would arrange their whole life around skiing.
The backcountry skiing culture in Canada is unique, I believe. This has a lot to do with great snow, terrain, and work opportunities.  If you don’t grow up with those your perception is different and you need a while to put the pieces together.
But through spending time with open-minded people and experiencing emotions from riding dry deep untracked powder you start to understand. You start to look for slopes where there is no skin track even though it means work, and you can manage to sore your ass in a car for hours because you know what is waiting, or because you actually don’t know.
So something like this changed my ski adventures because I think of skiing as a whole differently. Before, the trips needed to have a goal (a peak, or a specific run) to feel fulfilling. Now, it’s more like: How do I ski today just so I can feel happy the whole day?

The previous two questions:

Game Changers 3-article series: Interesting ski tourers answer "Who is the one person that changed or influenced your ski adventures?"

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Here are answers to the 2nd question of the Game Changer article series. I was able to put together a very representative group (in terms of their main skills and passions) of ski mountaineers to answer these questions to make for a great read, and include my answers at the end.
Person that influenced your ski adventures or racing.
» To read answers to the 1st question in this series see: What is the one piece of gear that changed or influenced your ski adventures?

Who is answering?

In short:

  • Greg Hill
  • Melanie Bernier
  • John Baldwin
  • Christina Lusti
  • Stano Faban

For more details about these ski mountaineers see the first article of the Game Changer series.

2nd question: Who is the one person that changed or influenced your ski adventures (whether that be touring or racing)?

I would like to hear who influenced YOUR ski adventures. You can do so via comments section at the end of this article.
Greg Hill says (http://www.greghill.ca):
I am not someone who likes to place people on pedestals, I feel that we are all unique and usually deserved of respect but most likely not so great that we should be idolized.
I respect anyone who pushes themselves to be their personal best in whatever avenue they choose. But of course there have been people who have stood out in the past.
Alex Lowe was a champion of men and having seen what he could do and how he progressed mountaineering was impressive. He chose his path and went after it with wild determination. His technical climbing, exuberant character and his style were standards to be sought.  Sadly enough he died doing what he loved.

Andrew McLean
Andrew McLean staring down one of his many first descents.
Andrew McLean was someone who influenced me early on in my ski mountaineering career. What Andrew has done, in terms of firsts, is huge, his list of accomplishments hard to conceive. As a young mountain boy I was blown away by the potential that Andrew demonstrated, how much he could explore and have fun while doing it.
Initially, in the rando races, Andrew was the big name. So while I ran up and down mountains I trained to beat him and also dreamed of befriending him and going on some cool adventures with him. Both those came true and we have been friends ever since.
But he truly showed me the potential of fitness and passion in the mountains and how endless it really is.  He was someone who helped me realize my huge days in the mountains by being humble and psyched about what we do.
Melanie Bernier says (http://inthetrails.blogspot.ca):
The person that influenced me the most for ski adventures and skimo racing is Kilian Jornet (standing skimo world champ).
I remember when I was just starting to race, part of the Spanish skimo racing team came to Canada to race the Spearhead Passage race in Whistler. The sport was very young in NA back then, and I remember while gaining Russet Lake, Kilian had already reached the top of Whirlwind and was on his way back. He nicely cheered me on and kept going. I remember being really impressed and could not believe how fast he could move on his skis.
From competing in more events where he was also racing, I got to learn about his philosophy about the sport of skimo but also running. He also has a great personality and is very humble in all that he does, which is a great quality for an athlete of his level.
Looking at all that he does and how fast he is makes me not only want to train harder but push the boundaries and explore always a bit further.
John Baldwin says:
I have definitely been influenced a lot by the collective sport of ski mountaineering – whether it be new ideas for kinds of trips, new gear, new avalanche skills. It’s always inspiring to see what other people are doing.
I was definitely inspired by such as Whistler’s local Karl Ricker pioneering the Spearhead Traverse, or Chic Scott‘s long trips in the Rockies, or Galen Rowell‘s ski trips in Alaska.
I’ve been inspired by ski descents and skimo racing. I have also learned tons from different friends about things ranging from ski technique to how to know where the snow drifts in light and deep or many other things.
But it is hard to single out one person.
I suppose the biggest influence was the person that got me into backcountry skiing in the first place. It was Hans Fenz, my high school French teacher. I was never any good at French but on weekends he would take a few students backcountry skiing. Trips to Diamond Head and eventually the summit of Mt Baker opened up this magical world for me.
Christina Lusti says (http://christinalusti.wordpress.com):
pet lustenbergerMy Dad has been the biggest influence of my skiing career.
It must have started when I was a baby in his back-pack skiing around the local ski hill. Teaching me how to tune my skis, driving us to ski races, helping out on the race course. . . and of course free skiing all over the mountain as a family.
Supporting me through a ski racing career and then up a new path of ski guiding, he has helped me create a life and career around my passion!
My dad loves to ski, watch skiing, talk about skiing!
He grew up on a mountain in Switzerland so skiing was a way of transportation . . . ski racing at a young age, moving to Canada and working for CMH, to running Lusti’s Ski Shop at Panorama Resort.
I think that his passion has been passed over to me. . . I look up to him and how he has formed his life around the greatest sport I know!
Stano Faban (Skintrack.com):
I guess, one never realizes how hard it is to answer a seemingly simple question until he asks the same himself :). So I totally agree – it is hard to single out only one person that influenced us the most.
As I think about it, by looking at a bigger picture, I was always amazed with human powered speed. That means that racing or “racing-like” efforts inspired me the most.
To some, climbing North Face of Eiger in less than 3h (Ueli Steck) is a suicide mission, or to run a sub 30min 10k in an olympic distance triathlon is just that – running 10k in 30min.
To me, the final time of such an effort is an extraordinary summary (even though a very brief one) of what came before. It is a result of a long journey that starts with wanting slowly being transformed to believing. The more obvious things follow such as planning, commitment, determination. But even each of those include tremendous details that have to come together, on a daily basis, 365 days a year!
And because speed comes and goes as we age my biggest inspirers have changed too over periods of time:
Firstly, it would be Miguel Indurain (5-time Tour de France winner) but then reading about Reinhold Messner’s and Hans Kammerlander’s missions in the Himalayas showed me how speed can blend with adventure and mountain environments.
The biggest inspiration in my triathlon “career” came from Jan Rehula and Simon Whitfield after seeing them duke it out for gold at the first triathlon at Olympics in Sydney 2000. I knew Jan since about 1997 and all he could talk about was that race. Then seeing him getting bronze was amazing.
Finally, once I turned to mountain sports fully Ueli Steck (the speed with adventure), Stephane Brosse (completeness and consistency) who recently died, and Peter Svatojansky (determination and sheer will) inspired me the most. These days it is mostly Reiner Thoni and above answering Melanie Bernier.

Previous and Next questions:

Who influenced you?

Share who was/is The most influential person for your ski adventures, backcountry or racing.
And thank you for enjoying the read!

Game Changers 3-article series: Interesting ski tourers answer "What is the one piece of gear that changed or influenced your ski adventures?"

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I like to learn from people and about people because we are all unique characters. With some we have lots in common, with others only few things. But there is always something to learn.
gear that changed your touringSo I had an idea – let’s ask couple of interesting people 3 simple questions and see what comes out of it.
Since answers came in longer and deeper than expected I decided to spread them over three articles than jam everything together.
» To read answers, from the same people, to the 2nd question of the Game Changers series see – The person that influenced or changed your ski adventures.

Who is answering?

I reached out to couple of people that would represent the ski touring pool in every aspect – from exploring, adventurous skiing, to rando ski mountaineering racing:
Greg Hill – the 2 Million Man trail breaking machine, Dynafit Stoke ski features his name
(http://www.greghill.ca)
Melanie Bernier – 5th at World Ski Mountaineering Champs 2011, triple Canadian Skimo Champ, also very successful MTB rider
(http://inthetrails.blogspot.ca)
John Baldwin – Canadian West Coast ski mountaineering explorer and author of “Exploring the Coast Mountains on Skis”
(http://www.johnbaldwin.ca)
Christina Lusti – 2006 alpine Olympic skier metamorphosed into a backcountry skier and ACMG Assistant Ski Guide
(http://christinalusti.wordpress.com)
Stano Faban – this is me. I wanted 5 people to answer these and since I couldn’t get hold of Andrew McLean I humbly decided to take his place. Hopefully, I can fill in his answers later.

1st question: What is the one piece of gear that changed or influenced your ski adventures (whether that be touring or racing)?

Before you dive in, I want ask you to share the piece of gear that changed YOUR ski adventures. You can do so via comments section at the end of this article. It is always interesting to see what influences others.
Greg Hill says:
Google Earth changed the way I approach adventures! It increased the amount of terrain I could explore from home, which expanded what I could do out in the mountains.
I remember the moment I started using Google Earth, in 2006, it was getting information for the Bugs Rogers traverse [Bugaboos to Rogers Pass]. We were planning on doing some variations from thee normal route and we spotted this 4500 foot avalanche path into the Duncan creek. Weeks later when we rolled into the line it looked exactly like on Google Earth, and we skied it top to bottom completely relaxed, knowing the line was cliff free to the valley bottom.
Up until that moment all our information came from maps – vague 100 foot contours hinting at the terrain that was out there. Huge cliffs could hide in the middle of lines, a line pondered and penciled in at home could turn out to be un-skiable.
It was harder to truly daydream a line, you could see the potential but there was always a huge amount of unknown. With Google Earth you can view lines from all angles, tilt them and look down them. Check out approach, spot hazards from home and then go out with so much more information.
You can spot a line from 100 km away, go home and view it close up, mark it “Cool Peak”. Dream about it for a few months and then go and ski it, feeling like you have already been there.  It’s unbelievable!
Melanie Bernier says:
Ski touring bindings.
Growing up, there was a cross-country trail just across the street from my parent’s house. Getting lost in the forest with our cross-country skis was what we would do after school.
At 8, I put the free heal equipment aside when I discovered a new passion for downhill skiing.  After learning the skills and racing moguls for years, I would have never thought this amazing sport could get any better until the day I moved to the West Coast and discovered touring bindings.
The purchase of my first pair changed my perspective forever. It totally made sense tying in the cross-country skiing roots, which were still present in my heart and the ever-growing passion of downhill skiing. It offered not only a way to fulfill my desire for exploring beyond the boundaries but also the love for carving turns in the white fluffy stuff.
It allows for freedom of the destination, the length of the journey and the type experience. In a rando ski mountaineering racing perspective, the type of binding and their evolving technology allows now not only to discover new terrain but also cover the distance with speed and confidence.
As simple as it sounds, the piece of equipment that charged my perspective in ski touring and racing is the piece that rests between my boots and my ski.
John Baldwin says:
Stano, that’s a tough question. I’ve been skiing for 40 years and have used a lot of different equipment over the years.
I don’t feel that old but I do remember leather downhill ski boots, jackets that had cotton in them before there was Gore-tex, clip on skins, and sat phones and GPS hadn’t been invented.  Most of the gear we use has generally gotten way better and we have some pretty amazing gear nowadays. As a package all of it has influenced my ski adventures.
To single out one piece of gear is hard! But if I had to pick one thing I think it would be maps.
I started backcountry skiing in the 1970s. Back then there was no Coquihalla Highway (BC, Canada), no winter access to Duffey Lake (BC, Canada), and far fewer logging roads. There were areas that didn’t have 1:50,000 scale maps. Many of the detailed maps of the Coast Mountains were not completed until the mid 1970s.
I remember going on a trip to the Manatee Range in 1979. Hardly anyone had ever gone in there skiing. Access was from logging roads that were still under construction. What really influenced my ski adventures was the map that we had. It was a new 1:50,000 scale map of the area.
Half of the map showed the Lillooet Icefield which is just north of the Manatee Range. I remember staring at the map. It showed huge glaciers and I was so curious to see what those large blue areas on the map looked like. In a way it was that map that got me started on going to all these wild incredible places in the Coast Mountains.
Christina Lusti says:
All of my amazing Arcteryx clothing!
I love spending as many days skiing as I can. . . So being suited with Arcteryx’s finest makes my days in the mountains comfortable.
Stano says:
As John pointed out, it is difficult to single out one piece of gear and I definitely agree with any of the choices above. But I wanted only one, so here is mine.
The game changers for me were a pair of Dynafit Classic bindings. I think it was in the winter of 1999/2000 when Peter Svatojansky (an upcoming top Euro skimo racer at the time) recommended that I switch from Silvretta to Dynafit even though I was not seriously racing skimo back then. To this day I am grateful my father spend the money to let me have a pair of quite light Dynastar skis mounted with the Classics.
These bindings have not only let me enjoy mountains more and feel less sore for next day’s triathlon workouts but they showed me that if you buy a quality product you never have to buy again. To this day I remount them from skis to skis. They are 12 seasons old and I never serviced them once!

Next question: Who is the one person that changed or influenced your ski adventures (whether that be touring or racing)?

To read answers to the 2nd question of the Game Changers series see – The person that influenced or changed your ski adventures.
» Signup for our newsletter (top right of this page) or follow us on Twitter and will let you know when any new article is up.

What piece of gear was your game changer?

Share what was The piece of gear that changed your ski adventures, be it backcountry or racing.
And thank you for enjoying the read!

North Joffre Creek mini-traverse: Spring skiing and bush whacking

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This trip took place in Duffey Lake area in the southern part of Coast Mountains, Canada, during May 23-25, 2009. Duffey Lake backcountry skiing is a serious rival destination to the famed Rogers Pass near Revelstoke, BC.

A detailed description of the North Joffre Creek traverse can be found in John Baldwin’s book – Exploring the Coast Mountains On Skis.

Day 1 – bush whacking

Peter fighting some serious flora to get us started.
Peter fighting some serious flora to get us started.

Since spring conditions are one of the best to explore new terrain, due to high snowpack stability, stable weather and long days, we decided to go out on for three days.

Two of us, Stano Faban and Peter Mrazik, headed up the Duffey Lake road on Saturday morning. We parked our car on a logging road (km 3) on the east side of the North Joffre Creek, since this was the spot where we would finish the trip.

The late date and warm days just before our trip prepared quite a bush whacking for us. Avoiding swaps, which are skied over in the winter, by crossing the creek and the valley higher up meant dry boots but very thick bushes. We couldn’t carry the skis on our packs since we weren’t able to move a step forward with such a setup.

Navigation is vital...as is a lunch break.
Navigation is vital...as is a lunch break.
Finally, after two and a half hours (at about 1400m), we made it to some continuous flanks of snow. Once on skis, we moved through the old forest at a decent speed arriving at a lake east of Cassiope Peak for a late afternoon lunch.

From here we headed directly west towards a wide pass (more of a ridge) between Cassiope and Saxifrage Mountain. The lake was in melting conditions, so we opted to stay on its north side by climbing up about 50m higher onto some mellower terrain.

After reaching the wide pass we decided to go little further towards Saxifrage and pitch a tent there to be ready for some morning spring skiing.

Route to a pass east of Cassiope Peak, which is just out of the photo to the left.
Route to a pass east of Cassiope Peak, which is just out of the photo to the left.

Day 2 – ski time

Early morning plans were slightly disrupted by our vacation moods. However, this turned out to work in our favour as the east face of Saxifrage was in prime conditions at around 8.30am.

East of Saxifrage Mountain. We skied down slightly right from the center.
East of Saxifrage Mountain. We skied down slightly right from the center.
We boot-packed up to reach a ridge just right of the summit. From here it was a scramble for few meters and then a short boot-pack in the snow to reach the top. The view was amazing.

Skiing down the east face is getting steeper (around 40-45 degrees) but in those conditions it was perfect. This was a summit and a face that I was eying for some time since it looks quite attractive from Cayoosh Mountain where I go often. Cayoosh is just few valleys to the east from here.

After getting down we packed our gear and headed north through another fairly wide col immediately east of Saxifrage. From here, skiing down to White Lakes was great. Although, on couple of spots right off the top, the snow was bullet proof, it eased to spring corn very soon.

Once crossing the White Lakes we stopped and turned around. The valley looked spectacular and sure worthwhile to stick around for some skiing. We’ll come back in the future.

Our living room, on a shoulder of Cirque Peak, was waaay nicer than any waterfront condo.
Our living room, on a shoulder of Cirque Peak, was waaay nicer than any waterfront condo.
After a long “lazy” lunch in a pass between Mount Olds and Mount Oleg we climbed up to the summit of Mt Oleg and skied back to grab our packs. Then we skied further down the Place Glacier to reach Joffre Glacier.

After good laughs and some more skinning we cooked our dinner on a shoulder that is south of Cirque Peak. We relaxed, talked, laughed and ate in an amazing calmness of the surrounding mountains with no society craziness in sight.

Joffre naming “controversy”

When reaching the Joffre Glacier we realized a funny fact. Joffre Lakes that are on the south side of the Duffey Lake road are fed water from Matier Glacier.

Being on the north side of the Duffey Lake road and standing on the Joffre Glacier we wondered how this geographical naming happened. From the map, it’s very clear that Joffre Lakes and Joffre Glacier have nothing to do with each other except their names. (If someone knows more please post a comment below.)

Day 3 – more great skiing

Since we knew all we had to do was climb around 200m and then ski down and walk to the car, we took our time. There are trips when we travel on a preplanned “schedule” but we decided to make this one a vacation style. Weather was great, jokes were flying, so why not just wander around a tent a bit more than usually.

Skiing from a small summit in the shoulder we slept on was amazing (photo below). It was around 900m run all the way to the trees where we reached NE fork of North Joffre Creek. Here, we followed some older ski tracks down the creek, then at about 1600m we started to traverse into the forest to the east of the creek.

Great view of Mt. Matie just before we ski of the shoulder of Cirque Pk.
Great view of Mt. Matier just before we ski of the shoulder of Cirque Pk.

“Tree skiing” wasn’t as good but at least we didn’t have to hike yet. But soon enough, at about 1400m, we had to switch from ski mode to walking down in an old forest. We got lucky and not too long after the hike started we reached a logged patch which led us to a logging road that took us to our car.

Recommendations for this trip

After completing the route we realized that this is a perfect trip for an introduction to ski traverses and multi-day backcountry skiing. It’s not very demanding with only about 25km in length at around 2200m of climbing. The navigation is quite straight forward and the views are great.

If you want to ski more than just moving along with a big pack then there are plenty of options on various aspects at various angles.

The best time for this trip would most likely be late April since there should still be enough snow to avoid bush whacking, while the snow should be settled enough for great stability already.