MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Winter 2019

WINTER 2019 ML BLUE 49 When Buck Miller mentioned the idea of a winter Algonquin crossing to fellow adventurer Eric Batty, it was a no brainer; Batty was in. And when Batty invited world champion Obstacle Course Race and Tough Mudder athlete Ryan Atkins, he was also immediately on board. After months of planning they set off on February 2, 2018 with enough food and gear for 16 days. Leaving from Highway 60 at the southwest corner of the Park, the final destination was Deux-Rivières, 165km to the north. “We had tons of camera gear, tons of food, all the winter camping equipment, a hot tent, just so much stuff,” says Ryan Atkins. “Each of us had 10-foot pulks that were full to capacity. We never weighed them, but I’d be surprised if they were under 100 pounds when we started. They were portly units for sure.” They chose to travel on Altai skis—self-proclaimed “skishoes” with permanently attached skins underfoot—145cm long and 110mm wide underfoot. They used Altai’s universal binding (compatible with any kind of boot) and spent nearly six hours a day travelling, with 70 percent of their route along frozen lakes. The rest of the time was spent setting up and tearing down camp and gathering firewood. Temperatures rarely went above -8C degrees, and nights plummeted to -25C nearly every night. “The hot tent adds a whole different element to winter camping,” says Atkins. “You do have that hour or two of warmth where you can dry out your gear. But it’s also a ton of work. You’re getting so much wood. The only thing that was burning well for us were tiny twigs. So you’re constantly feeding the fire. We would get a pile of twigs, probably the size of a smart car, and that would last us a night. When you have EPIC TRIP A deep-winter ski traverse of Canada’s first provincial park CROSSING ALGONQUIN words :: Colin Field photos :: Eric Batty “A real middle-of-nowhere experience.” (L-R) Eric Batty, Buck Miller and Ryan Atkins show off their Altai backcountry skis.