WINTER/SPRING2017
MLCM
43
words & photography :: MasonMashon
Abitter northeastern wind howls straight into
the front of the teepee as I fumble to start a fire
with freezing cold fingers. Somehow, we get a
smouldering fire going but the same minus-
22-degree-Celsius gale that’s blowing our door
open, has pressed the smoke flaps over the
opening, essentially sealing the top shut.
The correct way to raise a teepee is with the
back set against the prevailingwind so the wind-
flaps create a vacuum that draws the air/smoke
up and out of the structure. Northwinds are
rare in the Sea to Sky so a week prior, in good
weather, I set everything upwhile considering
our dominant weather patterns, but now it’s
apparently backwards. It’s too late though; the
poles are already frozen into the snowwith no
chance to reorient the canvas in this wind.
Instead, we’re asphyxiating, everything is frozen
(including us) and we’re about to face the
coldest night by far that I’ve ever spent camping
out. What are we doing? Surviving, learning, and
absolutely freezing.
The teepee is a tried and true design. For
millennia, the nomadic Plains Cree First Nations
used this type of shelter to travel and follow
the buffalo herds. I come from Cree heritage on
my father’s side, so culturally and practically,
the teepee was an obvious direction for me to
go when I foundmyself looking for a portable
lodge. But rather than following buffalo to feed
my family, I’m chasing perfect pow, ideal riding
conditions and a transportable shelter to house
my creative mind. I want nothingmore than to
wake up with an incredible view, and ride right
out of my own personal backcountry lodge.
My idea with the teepee is to collect and
strategically store sets of poles inmy favourite
places to camp. Then I’ll just show up with the
canvas, raise the poles, and buildmy home.
I typically harvest standing, dead, lodgepole
pine trees, as they tend to be dried and cured,
making for easy preparation. Harvesting poles
is an important process, and one must choose
wisely. Slim and straight is ideal, after all, they
are the foundation of a home. For this set up
I’ve chosen particularly large poles to withstand
strong winds.
Weawake to findeverything
buried.Mysnowmobile is
almost invisible.
MOUNTAIN
HOME
Green skies at night, teepee delight.Mason's original teepee set up inAlaska.
