Bugs to Rogers Skied in Blistering Time for a New Record
"So that the next generation of female light and fast athletes realize they have a proverbial, 'seat at the table.'"
Kylee Toth, Emma Cook-Clarke and Taylor Sullivan have set a new record for the Bugs to Rogers Traverse of 44 hours and 37 minutes. When asked about conditions, Toth, a highly accomplished big mountain skier and professional skimo athlete, said, “Perfect spring travel.”
There are a lot of famous ski traverses in Canada and around the world, from the Wapta, Bonington, Spearhead and Garibaldi to the Haute, but one of the most classic is the Bugs to Rogers in eastern B.C.
And about the crux, Toth said, “Both mental and physical. Being up for so many hours weighs on you in both regards.” It’s a 135-kilometre ski along avalanche-prone slopes and glaciers. The traverse is often skied from the Bugaboos to Rogers Pass, south to north, and was pioneered by Bill Briggs, Barry Corbet, Sterling Neale, and Bob French in June 1958.
However, several teams have been opting to ski north to south, from Rogers Pass to the Bugaboos. In 2021, Greg Hill, Adam Campbell and Andrew McNab set the previous record for the traverse at 53.2 hours. Before them, Troy Jungen, Douglas Sproul and Jon Walsh set the record back in 2005 in a time of 80 hours, with 64 spent skiing.
In her Instagram announcement about the historical accomplishment, Toth said, “It is important to me to see women try big, hard and intimidating things not to prove anything to men but so that the next generation of female light and fast athletes realize they have a proverbial, ‘seat at the table.'”
So we asked Toth about her message for other women who want to pursue such inspiring objectives, and she said, “My message for other women sounds cheesy but it is to believe in themselves. Train hard, learn as much as you can from both men and women and then just try. You will never know what your capable of if your never willing to try.”
And when asked what’s next? Toth said, “Rest! But more goals next year for sure. Maybe a team up with some of the other Bugs to Rogers speed traverse finishers for something that would be awesome.”
Along the way are famous glaciers, vast valleys, huts and some amazing peaks. If you were taking your time, you could climb mountains like Mount Conrad, Mount Sugarloaf, Grand Mountain and Mount Wheeler. Be sure to follow the three skiers below as they’ll be updating followers with stories from the epic traverse.
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