MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Winter / Spring 2018

WINTER/SPRING 2018 MLCM 101 exploration began to coalesce in Sweeny’s mind, taking hold with the same power that Mystery Mountain had over Munday. The mission represented adventure in its purest form. Known today as Mount Waddington, “Mystery Mountain” is the tallest peak in the Coast Range. Accessing it requires sailing through the Georgia Strait up the Inside Passage, navigating tides and notoriously volatile weather. This is followed by days of bushwhacking and unholy elevation gain through some of the most rugged country that defines the British Columbian coast. And that’s just to reach the snowline, which then calls for glacial travel and mountaineering—if conditions permit. Sweeny aimed to achieve it all via human- propelled means, exactly as the Mundays had. He spent two years poring over maps, laying plans, and assembling the Arc’teryx team that would undertake the epic: photographer Jimmy Martinello; videographer and maritime captain Bradford Arthur; pro skier Eric Hjorleifson; and the last member of the team, Christina Lustenberger (Lusti), a reincarnation of Phyllis Munday’s drive, leadership, sense of adventure—and penchant for crushing it. As a pro skier, ACMG certified ski guide, and former World Cup racer known for pushing limits in the backcountry and massive first descents, Lusti has quickly become one of the foremost, big mountain skiers in the world. And just like Munday and Sweeny, she couldn’t resist the draw of Mystery Mountain. “The Waddington Range is like the Chamonix of the coastal mountains,” Lusti says. “There’s so much history there that goes way back. As a skier, I’m drawn to these deeply-enriched skiing locations because you hear about them when you’re growing up.” Lusti’s grandmother told her stories about the legend of Phyllis Munday. By the time Mystery Mountain began dominating her ambitions in 1925, Munday was already an accomplished mountaineer, having become the first woman to summit Mount Robson the year before. Her husband Don was no slouch of an alpinist either. In fact, the two met on an expedition with the BC Mountaineering Club, a trip on which Phyllis saved Don from slipping into a crevasse on glacial moraine. The incident sealed their fate as soulmates and expedition partners for life. But as Don wrestled with the PTSD that haunted so many soldiers after World War I, Phyllis became the driving force for their exploratory missions—including their decade-long pursuit of Mystery Mountain. The couple spent two months of every year heading deep into the wild, repeatedly drawn to the elusive peak. In late spring 2016, the Arc’teryx team set sail from Squamish up the Georgia Strait. They spent three days graced with good weather on the water, navigating tidal channels and tight LEFT Phyllis Munday (centre) with husband Don and daughter Edith, circa 1923. RIGHT The steeper the trail, the happier Phyllis (centre) was. NORTH VANCOUVER MUSEUM & ARCHIVES Known for her almost inhuman ability to charge, Lusti led most of the way.