First Winter Ascent of Mount Wood, Canada’s Sixth Highest Peak

Lonnie Dupre of Grand Marais, Minnesota and Alberta-based Pascale Marceau have made the first winter ascent of Mount Wood, Canada’s sixth highest peak and the 14th highest in North America. They reached the summit on March 11, 10 days before the start of spring. Marceau has also become the first woman to summit a subarctic peak in the winter.

“The beauty of such firsts lies in their unknowns. There is no standard route. There are no prescribed landing zones and the condition of the glaciers is always changing,” wrote Marceau in a blog post on Dupre’s website here. “The weather is not great and the descent that we have ahead of us now is the most technical part of the climb,” Dupre reported on their descent.

Mount Wood is a glaciated mountain in Kluane National Park, which is home to the the largest mountains in Canada, including the largest, Mount Logan. The first ascent was made in 1941 by Walter Wood, Anderson Blakewell and Albert Jackman. However, Mount Wood is named not for Walter Wood, but rather for a Canadian geographer. Scroll down to listen to the team’s pre-climb plan from the base of Mount Wood.

The team called in to report a successful summit of Mt. Wood at 3:10 pm yesterday. Lonnie Dupre and Pascale Marceau are now the first people to have summited this peak in winter. Pascale is the first woman to ever make an ascent of a high subarctic peak in winter. . “The beauty of such firsts lies in their unknowns. There is no standard route. There are no prescribed landing zones and the condition of the glaciers is always changing,” said Marceau. . Despite the odds, the brutal winds, heavily crevassed ice fields and extreme cold, the team spent 13 hours making their way to Mt. Wood’s summit of 4,850 meters (15,912 feet). . “The weather is bad and the descent that we have ahead of us now is the most technical part of the climb,” Dupre reported from 11,000 feet. . Stay tuned for more updates as the team descends and reports in with more audio and images from the expedition. . Special thanks to #AFrigidFirst lead sponsor @primaloft

A post shared by Lonnie Dupre (@lonniedupre) on Mar 12, 2019 at 9:26am PDT

Pre-Climb

Canada’s 10 Highest Peaks

1. Mount Logan 5,956m
2. Mount Saint Elias 5,489m
3. Mount Lucania 5,260m
4. King Peak 5,173m
5. Mount Steele 5,173m
6. Mount Wood 4,860m
7. Mount Vancouver 4,812m
8. Mount Slaggard 4,742m
9. Mount Fairweather 4,671m
10. Mount Hubbard 4,557m

After a reconnaissance flight over Mt. Wood, Mt. Steele and Mt. Lucania, the team has decided to climb Mt. Wood, Canada’s 6th tallest peak at 15,912 feet (4,850 meters). Lonnie and Pascale will attempt a ridge on its east face. Wishing them success on this Yukon Frigid First!

A post shared by Lonnie Dupre (@lonniedupre) on Mar 4, 2019 at 8:55am PST