Interview | Expedition zum Mount Logan

I meet Helias, Alex and Thomas on the terrace of a bar in Cham in the late afternoon. They have just returned from a 3-day tour with clients, during which they bivouacked on the Glacier du Argentière. Thier faces radiate satisfaction and exhaustion in equal measure. A good moment to talk to them over beer and pizza about the expedition in the Yukon Territory, where they climbed Mount Logan, the second-highest mountain in North America, and travelled on skis, snowboards and monoskis.

Jan: Please tell me how your idea came about.

Helias: It's a long story that took a few years to mature. There have already been two attempts to organise this expedition in the past, but one of the reasons they failed was that nobody could be found who was prepared to embark on this adventure. I think it was just too big, too daunting. Until I met Thomas and Alex! When I was with Thomas on the Zabardast expedition in Pakistan, I told him about it. He was immediately super motivated.

Thomas: That's not quite true. When you suggested the project to me, my first thought was: mate, you’ve lost your marbles!

Alex: For me, on the other hand, it was quite simple. Helias told me about it over a beer in Cham. That was enough and I said yes straight away.

Helias: But the original idea for this expedition was actually born on a trip to Alaska. The Logan Glacier feeds into the Copper River and flows 300 kilometres further into the Pacific. I wondered whether it would be possible to cross the mountain sea to sea.

Jan: How long did it take to prepare for the expedition?

Helias: 3 years (laughs). No, seriously, once the team was complete, we prepared everything within 3 months.

Jan: Your expedition was a challenge not only because of the remoteness but also because of the necessary logistics. After all, the three of you had to transport all the equipment and food for the planned 40 days on sledges! What was going on in your heads when you realised on arrival that, due to the dry winter, you would now have to carry all your luggage for several days instead of pulling it in order to reach the glacier tongue?

Alex: It was 20 degrees at the end of April and there was no snow. That was sobering at first. Deifining our daily goals helped us.

Thomas: In the first few days, we were only able to cover 5 kilometres a day because we had to transport our luggage in stages. That was extremely tiring but at the same time we were also super happy to be in this incredibly beautiful place.

Alex: The glacier is huge. The use of our drone was therefore very helpful in finding the way through the landscape, which was ruggedised by moraines. At one point, we had to move against our actual destination for 3 days to find a suitable passage. That was really irritating.

Jan: At the beginning of your trip, you not only had to contend with a lack of snow, but also with several days of rain. How did you manage to keep a positive attitude despite this?

Alex: It wasn't ideal, but after we'd already spent three days walking through the rocky desert to the glacier, that couldn't slow us down.

Jan: Did you sit out the rain or did you keep going?

Thomas: At first yes, but when it started to rain more heavily, we camped out so that everything didn't get completely wet.

Alex: And on top of the bad weather, we couldn't find the pass to get to base camp.

Thomas: And as if that wasn't enough, we then discovered bear tracks in the middle of the glacier that were obviously following us! That was mentally challenging.

Jan: But I think you realised that you would encounter bears sooner or later?

Thomas: Of course we had expected it. Especially at the beginning of the trip, but not far out on the glacier. I was totally freaked out when I discovered it. Laughs

Jan: You had planned 40 days for your expedition. How did you calculate your supplies after the journey to base camp took longer than originally planned?

Thomas: We had food for 45 days with us. It took us twice as long to get to base camp as we expected. But we had also planned several days at base camp, which we wanted to use for skiing and acclimatising. When we arrived at base camp, it was clear that we only had one attempt to climb Mount Logan.

Alex: Another reason to ascend directly and without acclimatisation was the weather situation. It became apparent that the chance of another weather window in the next few days was unlikely. That's why we only prepared at base camp for two days and set off. It only took us 7 days to climb over the ridge

Jan: A crash course in big river rafting, so to speak? 

Alex: We didn't have to go straight onto the river the next day. We still had a 10-day hike to get from base camp to the deployment site on the Copper River. So we didn't feel like Greg's exit jeopardised the expedition until we finally got to the river and saw this massive, brown, fast-flowing stream. Nobody said a word. Everyone just thought: What  the f...!

Thomas: When we arrived at the river, I had already decided for myself not to go on the river, but to take the plane back, which was supposed to bring us the rafts and the equipment. It was a difficult decision, especially as I didn't want Helias and Alex to get into trouble.

Jan: What made you decide to cancel the expedition here?

Thomas: I had previously phoned the agency in Alaska that organised the transport of the rafts. They said that the river had extremely high water this season. Also, after Greg's evacuation, we were three people spread over two boats, which was pretty suboptimal. I have no experience of kayaking or rafting. We had completed a safety course with Greg, but in the mountains I can assess dangers and know what to do. Not on a wild river like this. So my decision was clear.

Helias: It was something different for me. I can safely say that it was the hardest trip of my life so far, but I had already put so much energy into the project to get this far that giving up was not an option for me. I at least wanted to try.

Alex: I was still overwhelmed by everything we had achieved so far. I respect everyone's decision. But for me it was clear. We also had high-end rafting catamarans, dry suits, food and a satellite phone. So, despite my lack of big river knowledge, I wasn't too worried.

Jan: Until then, you had been travelling with heavy luggage, carrying and pulling your equipment for weeks under gruelling conditions and dragging it over 200 kilometres through the tundra. To what extent has this new means of transport changed the way you feel about travelling?

Alex: I've never realised that as much as when we were out on the river after those exhausting weeks. It was like a renaissance of locomotion. Instead of dragging ourselves from moraine to moraine, we could now take breaks and still get around!

Helias: Of course, we had to be very careful. From then on, the effort was more about concentrating on the river and the water and was less physical. In retrospect, I can say that I consider this section of the trip to be the most relaxing, despite the risks of the river trip, some of which were invisible to us. When you compare how much knowledge it takes to cross a glacier, the river was relatively easy to navigate.

Jan: Finally, let's take a look into the future. What are the next projects you are planning? Are there any concrete ideas yet?

Thomas: Too many. The world is full of interesting projects!

Helias: I would like to realise a similar project. Maybe not by boat again, but on horseback. Let's see. But you can't do an expedition like this every year. It's just too physically demanding.

Alex: The project has opened doors for us in many ways, because it combines different forms of experience and travelling, which I find very exciting and inspires me in the longterm. But the best thing about it is that you get to spend quality time with your friends. Skiing is just the framework for something bigger together.

Alex: But you could also describe our expedition like this: An ego trip of three better-off Western Europeans seeking self-realisation in the wilderness without regard for resources and at monstrous expense. We should always realise that this is not a matter of course.

Jan: Thank you for this interview.

The interview took place on 6 March 2022 and was translated from French into German.

Impressions of the expedition in moving images: