B.C. Skier Christina Lustenberger Becomes First Woman to Ski Down Mount Robson’s South Face

It was about 10 years ago when Christina "Lusti" Lustenberger first looked up at Mount Robson’s south face and wondered: Could someone ski down that?

The highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, Mount Robson stands at 3,954 metres (12,972 feet) and features a nearly vertical south face, an imposing mix of snow, rock, and ice that towers over the Yellowhead Highway in British Columbia.

Running through the middle of the face is a thin, unbroken strip of snow—a possible route for a daring, first-ever ski descent.

And last week, after a decade of planning, Lustenberger and French alpinist Guillaume Pierrel did exactly that.

A Historic First for Extreme Skiing

On Sunday, February 11, the pair climbed to the summit and skied down, making history as the first to ever ski Mount Robson’s south face.

"Even when you reach the summit, you're only halfway there," Lustenberger told CBC News.

"The ski descent took three and a half hours, and there were multiple rappels, transitioning between skiing and climbing. The mountain just puts so much pressure on you."

The achievement is even more remarkable considering that only three skiers had previously skied down any part of Mount Robson—and all had chosen the less technical north face.

This makes Lustenberger the first woman ever to ski from the top of Mount Robson and the first skier to descend its south face.

From False Start to the Summit

Getting to the top of Mount Robson is an achievement in itself. The ascent took two full days, including an overnight bivouac on a snowy ledge.

But weather proved to be one of the biggest challenges.

Mount Robson is so tall that it creates its own weather patterns, leading to rapid shifts in conditions.

On their first attempt, Lustenberger and Pierrel reached 200 metres below the summit before visibility dropped to near zero.

"It was then that we decided we would do a second attempt from a different approach," Lustenberger explained.

"Leaving that upper 200 metres just wasn't satisfactory. It was important enough for us to try again and complete the vision."

Their persistence paid off.

An Olympic Skier Turned Extreme Explorer

A former Canadian Olympic ski racer, Lustenberger has built a reputation as one of the world’s leading steep skiers, racking up a long list of first descents from New Zealand to Baffin Island.

Last month, she attended the Sundance Film Festival for the premiere of Trango, a documentary about her first ski descent of Pakistan’s Trango Tower.

Pierrel, a seasoned mountain guide and ski mountaineer, said Lustenberger was the key to their success.

"She's already a big source of inspiration for me, and that's why I'm here," he said.

"We're going to put our name in the history of the Canadian Rockies. It’s such an honour."

Imagination Turned Reality

For Lustenberger, the historic descent was as much about vision as it was about skill.

"Finding space as an explorer and a steep skier, you start to look at mountains differently," she said.

"You imagine your own way through them. The south face had been left untouched—no one had looked at it to climb and ski."

"And we did."

"We had the imagination."