Another Huge First Ski Descent for Christina Lusti in B.C.
She skied the big and remote face with Mark Herbison and Sam Smoothy
Big mountain B.C. skier Christina Lusti has opened another huge line, this time with Mark Herbison and Sam Smoothy. The three made the first ski descent of the east face of the 3,180-metre peak Mount Ethelbert in the Purcells.
Lusti and Herbison had attempted the line, but due to cloud cover they opted to bail back down the west face after a multi-hour wait. Some ideal conditions were forecasted for Feb. 22, so the two teamed up with Smoothy for an attempt.
They rode snowmobiles to a trailhead at Templeton Lake before switching to ski mode and reached the summit in early afternoon. They were met with windy and cold conditions. Their first descent was filmed by drone pilot Jamie Tanner who got a heli ride to a ridge below the face. “Frozen, but enjoying the Arctic sunset over the Columbia valley,” said Lusti. “What a magical day in the cold Canadian wilderness.”
Lusti has experienced as a competitive alpine skier, and over the past decade has accumulated an impressive resume of first descents in western Canada. Last winter, she opened a number of bold ski lines, such as the south face of Dunkirk and the east face of Nelson. In January 2021, with Brette Harrington and Andrew McNab, Lusti made the first ski of Gold Card Couloir M4+ WI4 C0 60° 800m, a serac-threatened line in the Monashees. In February, Lusti and McNabb made the first descent of Thor’s south face near Shelter Bay. And in 2020, the two made the first descent of Mount MacDonald in Rogers Pass.
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