A British Columbia athlete has skied from the summit of the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.
On February 16, Christina Lustenberger and ski mountaineer partner Guillaume Pierrel skied an impossibly steep line through the mind-bending cliffs of the Canadian alpha mountain, Mount Robson.
The historic descent marked the first time that Mount Robson’s 3,000 metre south face has ever been skied.
Christina Lustenberger’s ski career began as an alpine racer in Invermere, B.C. “Lusti” has since become a world-renown big mountain skier, tangling with technical mountain peaks all over the globe.
Still, after she and ski mountaineering partner Guillaume Pierrel completed their mission on 3,954 metre Mount Robson, the extreme athlete’s foremost feeling was relief, she said.
“It was an extremely challenging and exposed line,” she said. “It was incredibly stressful. It’s just nice to put it behind us and celebrate.”
Residents of Jasper and the Robson Valley are familiar with the sight of Mount Robson towering over the parking lot to the Berg Lake Trail. And for a long time, Lustenberger has also been familiar with the epic view—but through a ski mountaineer’s lens.
“Growing up in Canada and the Columbia Valley, Mount Robson has such a deep history of climbing and skiing,” she said. “It really is the king of the Rockies.”
The plan to ski the south face was about 10 years in the making, Lustenberger told Abigail Popple of the Robson Valley newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Goat. A sponsored athlete with many first ascents and descents on her list, “Lusti” said Mount Robson appealed to her because of its technical terrain and its iconic status as the tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies.
“It’s a line that, visually, everyone can share. Tourists and children, families can see it,” Lustenberger said. “To me, it was the pinnacle of ski alpinism in Canada.”
She added that the mountain’s challenging terrain pushes athletes to their limits.
“It is an incredibly demanding line, one that is extremely dangerous as well,” Lustenberger said. “It’s engaging mentally and physically not only to climb it, but to stay that attentive to everything for hours, and hours, and hours.”
The descent, which included multiple rappels, took about three and a half hours. Getting to the top, however, was less than straight forward. During their first attempt on February 11 through 12, Lustenberger and Pierrel climbed within 200 metres of the summit. There they set up a temporary camp, only to have their hopes of a descent dashed by poor visibility and extremely cold temperatures, Lustenberger said.
“We retreated, skied the line, and then came back into Valemount for two days where we recharged our batteries and our bodies and minds,” she said.
By February 16, Lustenberger and Pierrel were ready to make another attempt. This time, they were successful in skiing and rappelling down the entire south face.
“It pushes you and tests you as a skier and a mountain athlete,” Lustenberger said. “You’re not [only] a climber or a skier – you have to be everything.”
Lustenberger says a successful expedition requires a reliable, supportive partner – which she found in Pierrel, a French ski guide whom she met through their mutual sponsorships with The North Face. After first meeting Lustenberger in Chamonix, a resort town in the French Alps, the duo spent time in New Zealand, where they were mutually impressed with each other’s skills.
“I can’t really underline enough how important it is to have a partner that pushes you and allows you to lead, and to follow, and to communicate, but also to see the same vision,” Lustenberger said. “When you’re doing these things that are at the pinnacle of your sport, there’s very few people that you’re interested in spending that experience with, and you have to really be aligned with what you’re both trying to do.”
Likewise, Pierrel recalled feeling a connection with Lustenberger’s aspirations.
“Her vision and everything was amazing, and matched the way I wanted to be in the mountains,” he said. “When I saw for the first time Mount Robson from the parking lot [years ago], I was really impressed. It put me on fire. I was like, ‘Okay, that’s really something serious, it’s going to be a serious job.’”
The pair credited Valemount locals for their support throughout their expedition. Both skiers said they appreciated the encouragement and local knowledge provided by people they met at local businesses such as Peak Physio and Vale Coffee.
“It’s just such a beautiful town,” Lustenberger said. “We felt very lucky to have spent so much time there, going back and forth between [Mount] Robson and Valemount.”
The duo christened their new line on Mount Robson’s south face “The Great Couloir.”
“As an explorer and a steep skier, you start to look at mountains differently. And to put our names on Mt. Robson is something that we can be really proud of,” Lustenberger said.
Abigail Popple // The Rocky Mountain Goat // Local Journalism Initiative
With files from Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
The Local Journalism Initiative is a federal program which supports the creation of original civic journalism that covers the diverse needs of under-served communities across Canada.
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We thank the Robson Valley Goat for their partnership to help bring this story to Jasper Local readers.
