Yet another backyard ski-touring milestone from the Traslins: 546 summits in the Kootenays in southeastern B.C.
The tireless multisport B.C. legends Mike and Andy Traslin are at it again. As veteran ski mountaineers (and former members of the Canadian Ski Mountaineering team; Andy a three-time champ) the brothers have logged summits around B.C. and beyond, including Waddington and Logan.
Among many other first descents, Mike logged Mount Burwell Couloir in 1999, while Andy bagged the northeast chute of Crown Mountain in 2008.
As the 2024 ski season wound down, we caught up with Mike and Andy from their homes in Kelowna, B.C. to ask about the latest milestone—ski-touring up and down 546 Kootenay peaks, logging roughly 5.8 million vertical feet.
ML: Just one big question: How did you guys get here—to 500-plus Kootenay ski-summits?
Mike Traslin: The project started innocently enough when we first moved to Kelowna in February 2017 from North Vancouver. As a skier and ski mountaineer, my first thought was, ‘Where am I going to ski locally, for my bread-and-butter ski days?’
By chance we overheard that East Peak was a good ski-tour from the bottom of the Black Forest area of Big White.
With our background in ski mountaineer racing and mountain bike racing—and an obsession with Mount Baker summits (21) and Spearhead traverses (Andy: 25. Mike: 23) still ongoing—I figured I would joke to my brother Andy, ‘How many Biggie White summits and East Peaks can we climb and ski?’
Andy Traslin: On the Coast, there are infinite peaks to climb and ski from your doorstep. But in the interior, there’s much more driving required to access the mountains. In Kelowna a skier mentioned East Peak in the Kootenay/Boundary. I was a little skeptical.
When the weather finally cleared, we started touring from the parking lot at Black Forest. It was actually a good challenge and the snow was epic—Kootenay cold smoke powder. So it began. It snowballed so to speak.
The challenges were many. The mountain is notorious for whiteouts. They are real and are known as ‘Big Whiteout.’ You have to adapt to the conditions. But it keeps the crowds away.
MT: East Peak became our go-to ski tour, to keep in shape for skiing Roger’s Pass and the Gorge on the weekends. Coquihalla is another good area to tour, about 2.5 hours away. Ten dollar Friday night skiing at Big White also became a staple, along with joining the local Div 1 Beer Hockey team to keep in shape.
The next year we got passes at Big White. Once we discovered the Cliff Chair, things really opened up. Yes, they actually have steep skiing—but shorter pitches than we were accustomed to at Mount Baker (or Whistler Blackcomb, where we grew up skiing). But we quickly learned the [Kootenay] snow quality was off the charts. So dry.
AT: At first I had a goal of 100 laps on my favourites. So once we hit 100 summits we kept going. We figured that would be a cool goal—like if a player hits 500 goals in the NHL. Just a number to achieve.
MT: There were countless whiteouts and more than a few crashes. Dealing with a more sensitive snowpack than the Coast Mountains is an ongoing adventure. (Checking the avalanche forecast and weather is a must every a.m. before we head out.) Did I mention the wind? It is always next-level windy in the Kootenay Boundary area near Big White. We’ve experienced sore backs, knees, boredom, stoke, getting scared. And maybe a few brother arguments?
I joked that my younger brother Andy skied more steep lines per square foot… but that’s true. Sometimes I played the role of tail guide.
My brother also had a major bike commute accident and he was in the hospital for a month and a half. How we kept the “earned turns all year” going is a story on its own.
Mike and Andy’s sponsors include D-CURVE Optics, Dissent Labs, Fischer, Intuition Liners and OuterU masks.
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