Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • The Great Outdoors

Base Camp X: Bridging the Gap Between Utility and Art

  • January 28, 2016
  • Ben Osborne
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

“The mountains are the perfect place for a tribe mentality,” says Graeme Cameron, creator of Base Camp X. “You are a bit caged-in geographically, so you are bumping elbows and rubbing shoulders with each other in an environment that is as big and broad as can be. There are no real rules or restrictions, but you gotta know what you are doing. The mountains create a shared dream of chasing goals and living life, instead of just existing.”

 

BCX2
Bryn Hughes Photo

By Feet Banks

Base Camp X (BCX) is an all-Canadian lifestyle brand best known for their handcrafted axes. Graeme built the company on a philosophy of functionality, community and legacy — “This is not your grandfather’s axe,” Graeme’s motto explains. “It’s your grandson’s.”

The axe is an interesting tool, ubiquitous to both survival and exploration since the dawn of civilized man. Times have changed. “These days, an axe isn’t an everyday-use product for most of people,” Graeme explains, adding that for many people, the only time they touch an axe is out at a family cabin, or camping at some secluded place. “So when you see an axe hanging on a wall, it’s no longer just some tool — it may be a portal to somewhere special.”

Lately, the BCX products themselves seem to have found a portal to the Coast Mountains. The brand, based in Ontario, has a sponsored ski team that includes BC-local rippers like Josh Bibby, Riley Leboe, Rory Bushfield and most recently, Alberta skier Tatum Monod, the team’s first female member.

 

BCX3
Dan Treadway. Bryn Hughes Photo

 

“Graeme is a die-hard skier,” Leboe says. “I think he was stoked on what we were doing out here and wanted some guys to be ambassadors and part of the tribe. He lives and breaths his art and craftsmanship and he’s always talking about new inspirations — people, music, nature, films — that are influencing his designs.”

Those designs are finding a home across a wide selection of the Sea to Sky big mountain tribe. Dan Treadway, Blake Jorgenson and artist Chili Thom are also fans. “I keep most of my BCX tools in the tool box in the back of my truck and I’m ready to make something happen any time,” says BCX skier, Josh Bibby. “My favourite piece is the Airborne (throwing axe). Each tool has its purpose and functions perfectly for its task.”

 

BCX4
Bryn Hughes Photo

On down days, Bibby says that he, Leboe and Bushfield will often get together to throw their various BCX pieces in friendly competitions. There seems to be plenty of controversy over who “wins,” with both Bushy and Bibby claiming a recent victory.

“My Tomahawk makes beating Josh Bibby as easy as a midnight walk to the fridge for some Pizza Pops,” Bushfield claims.

“Bushfield lost that last game,” Bibby counters. It’s all in good fun of course, but having people come together over his work is part of Graeme’s master plan. “To me, the most important thing is involvement,” he says. “Everyone who owns a product is part of the BCX tribe.”

The BCX Tribe is diverse and large. Everyone from tattoo artists and Hollywood filmmakers, to members of the military and models, passionately shares photos of their BCX stuff on Instagram. Graeme loves the photo sharing app and uses it to engage his tribe. “I’ll post a photo of something I am working on and ask questions,” he explains. “I want to hear what people say, or I will ask their thoughts on colours I am obsessing over. I enjoy these visual conversations with people.”

Graeme’s passion for Base Camp X is most apparent in the pieces themselves. He meticulously sands and colours each axe handle by hand, mixing the dyes with water from his own Base Camp, a cabin he built by hand (with an axe) on a piece of Canadian Shield lakefront his great grandfather claimed and prospected in 1915.

 

BCX 1
Graeme Cameron

 

“I have several blacksmiths working on BCX product,” he says. “We just bought an antique Nazel power hammer that was built in the 1930s. It looks like a big microscope except it can drop a hammer with unreal force or do the most delicate work ever. Pat Quinn (a blacksmith, not the hockey coach) is a super talented guy and he is working with me on some simply unreal pieces, he can make that hammer do amazing things.”

The curved, heavy blades of BCX Khukri knives are made in the country of the tool’s origin, Nepal. “I have a fourteen-generation-deep Kami blacksmith in Nepal, hand forging the steel in a classic forge called The Aran . . . traditional Kami will pray to it every morning,” Graeme explains. These sorts of details are incredibly important to him because BCX products are much more than simple tools.

“These days, an axe isn’t an everyday-use product for most of people,” Graeme explains. “So when you see an axe hanging on a wall, it’s no longer just some tool — it may be a portal to somewhere special.”

“We have a product that engages,” he explains. “When you show off your BCX piece, people will ask questions, ‘What’s the story with that?’ It’s like art, in a way.”

Base Camp X “artworks” are fully functional and will last for generations, but they’re also unique pieces of made-in-Canada badassery that evoke the magic of our nation’s wild landscape and the people who come together within it.

“I think that is a lot of it,” Graeme says. “The romance of it all is the idea of open country and mountains, rivers, forests and oceans — all these organic places with texture and beauty that just flow. I think that is why so many of my pieces end up in the Coast Mountains, it’s all right there.”

 

 

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Base Camp X
  • Blake Jorgenson
  • canadian shield
  • Chili Thom
  • Dave Treadway
  • Graeme Cameron
  • Josh Bibby
  • Ontario
  • Riley Leboe
  • Rory Bushfield
  • Tatum Monod
Ben Osborne

Previous Article
  • THE GEAR SHED

Helly Hansen Racer Jacket

  • January 27, 2016
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
Next Article
  • THE GEAR SHED

Billabong Bode Merrill Jacket

  • February 1, 2016
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • On The Trail
  • The Great Outdoors

Helly Hansen Presents: Adventure Planning 101 with Squamish SAR

  • Sarah Bulford
  • May 16, 2022
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • The Great Outdoors

Blower Pow and Disappearing Pants

  • Sarah Bulford
  • April 26, 2022
View Post
  • In This Issue
  • The Great Outdoors

ML Launches Mushroom Life

  • Sarah Bulford
  • April 1, 2022
View Post
  • Leslie Anthony
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Stay & Play
  • The Great Outdoors

Spring at Sun Peaks

  • Sarah Bulford
  • March 8, 2022
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • The Great Outdoors

Backcountry Skier John Baldwin Headlines VIMFF’s 2022 Best of British Columbia Night

  • Sarah Bulford
  • February 22, 2022
View Post
  • FALL GEAR
  • SPRING GEAR
  • THE GEAR SHED
  • The Great Outdoors
  • WINTER GEAR

The Legend of San Poncho

  • Editor
  • December 9, 2021
735990496 1280x720
View Post
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Videos

Friday Flick: Island of Plenty

  • Sarah Bulford
  • July 2, 2021
View Post
  • On The Trail
  • The Great Outdoors

Win Adventures to the Filming Location of the HISTORY® Channel’s “Alone” Season 8!

  • Sarah Bulford
  • June 8, 2021
Featured Posts
  • Fjallraven-Nuuk-Parka-daniel-blom-photo_jacket 1
    Gear Shed: Multisport Winter Roundup
    • January 26, 2023
  • Brian-Hockenstein-surfing-Iceland-water-and-ice-ML 2
    In the Land of Water & Ice
    • January 24, 2023
  • L'Hymne-des-Trembles-Laurentians-Quebec 3
    L’Hymne des Trembles: Uncompromising Laurentian Skiing
    • January 27, 2023
  • Marie-Pier-Desharnais-A-Womans-Experience-on-K2-flag-crop 4
    Marie-Pier Desharnais: A Woman’s Experience on K2
    • January 23, 2023
  • Paul-Manning-Hunter-Kananaskis-River-surf 5
    Behind the Photo: Rockies Edition
    • January 19, 2023
RECENT POSTS
  • Wachs_Fairly-Mellow
    Friday Flick: “Fairly Mellow” at Fairy Meadow Hut
    • January 20, 2023
  • knorthphotography.Beverly-Glenn Copeland-crop
    Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Finding the Universal Broadcast
    • January 17, 2023
  • Season-Pass-Skis-and-Splitboard-both
    Gear Shed: New Season Pass Skis + Splitboard Exclusive to evo
    • January 15, 2023
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
ML staff and gear partners highlight the latest jackets, boards, crampons, hoodies, insoles and bindings in alpha order. #Linkinbio to learn more!
Adventures like this one require an inspiring team. @timemmett is a longtime friend, adventure partner and extraordinary human; an explorer, pro climber, surfer, freediver—you name it. @luca.freediver is an incredibly talented freediver, fresh off breaking the Canadian national freediving record (85 metres). The fourth man on the team, @brianhockenstein, is a filmmaker and multi-talented snowboarder always ready to jump into the fray and capture the magic. - words Jimmy Martinello. #Linkinbio to learn more!
We came in search of the connection of the human spirit to both art and adventure, whether climbing from the depths of moulins and ice caves, breaking through ice while paddleboarding fjords, climbing icebergs, freediving between tectonic plates or surfing cold waves.
A thousand and one things could have gone wrong, but she made it to the top:  @mariepier.desharnais is the first Quebecois woman to climb K2.
Mountain Life is a proud member of the @printreleaf_ community. So far we've offset our print by having 1,737 trees reforested since joining in 2019! 🌲
GUESS WHAT! It's FRIDAY! Here's a flick to kick off the weekend for all you warriors.
Behind the scenes of three action photos from ML’s Rocky Mountains edition.
The @banffmountainfestival 2023 Signature Image Search is on🚨
In 1986 @beverlyglenncopeland recorded Keyboard Fantasies using an Atari computer, a keyboard and a drum machine. After releasing it on cassette and selling maybe 50 copies, he went back to writing for Sesame Street and making the odd guest appearance on Mr. Dressup. In 2015, a cassette made its way to Japanese collector Ryota Masuko, a record store owner with a big online presence, who quickly bought, and then sold, all the Keyboard Fantasies cassettes he could find. Record labels worldwide lined up to reissue the hidden gem on vinyl.
MUSIC SERIES TICKET SALE IS NOW LIVE 🗣️
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

ML staff and gear partners highlight the latest jackets, boards, crampons, hoodies, insoles and bindings in alpha order. #Linkinbio to learn more!
Adventures like this one require an inspiring team. @timemmett is a longtime friend, adventure partner and extraordinary human; an explorer, pro climber, surfer, freediver—you name it. @luca.freediver is an incredibly talented freediver, fresh off breaking the Canadian national freediving record (85 metres). The fourth man on the team, @brianhockenstein, is a filmmaker and multi-talented snowboarder always ready to jump into the fray and capture the magic. - words Jimmy Martinello. #Linkinbio to learn more!
We came in search of the connection of the human spirit to both art and adventure, whether climbing from the depths of moulins and ice caves, breaking through ice while paddleboarding fjords, climbing icebergs, freediving between tectonic plates or surfing cold waves.
A thousand and one things could have gone wrong, but she made it to the top:  @mariepier.desharnais is the first Quebecois woman to climb K2.
Mountain Life is a proud member of the @printreleaf_ community. So far we've offset our print by having 1,737 trees reforested since joining in 2019! 🌲
GUESS WHAT! It's FRIDAY! Here's a flick to kick off the weekend for all you warriors.
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.