Monthly Archives: July 2025

The Monashees have long been considered the holy grail of the grand traverses. On May 7, 2022, Douglas Noblet, Stephen Senecal, and wildlife biologist Isobel Phoebus completed a 600-kilometre (373-mile) traverse of the entire Monashee Mountains range from Grand Forks … Continue reading →

The longest traverse of all, it runs 320 kilometres (199 miles) along the crest of the Rocky Mountains between Jasper and Alberta’s Wapta Lake in Yoho National Park. First skied in 1967, it has been repeated only a dozen times … Continue reading →

First skied in 1984, it’s very popular. The route travels through the spectacular Premier Range, follows a good line and is reasonably easy to traverse. A short helicopter ride from Valemont takes you to the Gilmour Glacier, avoiding a horrendous … Continue reading →

If you are really ambitious, you could repeat the attempt to link all the grand traverses through the Columbia Mountains starting in McBride in the Northern Cariboos, and ending in Kimberly in the East Kootenay. This complete traverse was skied … Continue reading →

By Dave Quinn, Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine We lean against the airplane windows, flying between the Kootenays and British Columbia’s coast, trying in vain to comprehend the scale of forest removal we see in the landscape below. The ski tour … Continue reading →

Bugs to Rogers is the oldest and most iconic of the Grand Traverses, revered for its spectacular alpine scenery, steep slopes, heavily crevassed glaciers, and complex terrain. The route starts at the head of Bugaboo Creek before ascending Bugaboo Glacier, … Continue reading →

For those devotees of winter and wild places, there’s no pilgrimage deeper than the ski traverse, one of the most significant physical, social and spiritual experiences of your life. Go forth, sons and daughters of the mountains, and seek to … Continue reading →

There are eight grand traverses in the Columbia Mountains. A “grand traverse” is a wilderness route that follows a natural line through the crests of a mountain range, typically for 100 kilometres (62 miles) or more. I have extracted some … Continue reading →

Palau’s waters are some of the most biodiverse in the world—thanks to its defenders The Hatohobei people’s innovative protections ensure a reef’s health for generations to come. The only human residents on Helen Island, a narrow sandbar at the northern … Continue reading →

Coral reefs in the Philippines are some of the world’s most vibrant—but in peril Much of the archipelago’s undersea splendor is protected, but some areas are being stressed by climate change and harmed by destructive fishing practices. Tourists swim with … Continue reading →