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Great Divide Ski Traverse Completed on 50th Anniversary

On the 50th anniversary of the Great Divide Ski Traverse, a 320-kilometre journey from Jasper to Lake Louise, four Alberta skiers completed it in 21 days.

Alex Heathcott of Calgary, Darren Farley of Canmore, Lynnea Baker of Revelstoke and Eliot Brooks of Revelstoke were greeted by Chic Scott on May 2 on the final day of their adventures.

Lynnea Baker, Eliot Brooks, Chic Scott, Alex Heathcott and Darren Farley. Photo Monty Kruger/CBC

Scott was one of the four skiers who first completed the traverse in 1967, along with Don Gardner, Neil Liske and Charlie Locke.

“It was a pretty amazing trip,” Heathcott told The Calgary Eyeopener.

Don Gardner, Chic Scott, Charlie Locke and Neil Liske in 1967.

“It was the classic ski traverse in Canada,” Farley said. “It had a lot of historical significance so if you are a ski adventurer it’s kind of the one to do.”

“The one thing that you can say about this trip is it hasn’t become much easier over the years. Some adventures, like climbing Mount Everest, are not what they used to be, but skiing the Great Divide Traverse is still as big an adventure as it ever was,” said Scott of the trip that cross eight icefields.

“It’s not like a polar trip where you’re going across a flat expanse of snow and ice. This is mountain terrain, so you’re going up and down and around. It’s very complex,” he said.

A current Banff exhibit captures the 1967 trip from Jasper to Lake Louise, see more here.

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