Climbing
Backcountry
A new line has been written into Canadian ski mountaineering history. On January 18, 2026, pro skier Christina Lustenberger—widely known as “Lusti”— along with partners Brette Harrington and Gee Pierrel completed the first-ever descent of the North Glacier on Mount Deltaform in British Columbia.
The expedition unfolded deep in the Canadian Rockies and demanded a full-spectrum commitment that blended endurance, technical climbing, and exposed skiing. According to details shared by Black Crows, Lusti’s sponsor, the team departed the Moraine Lake trailhead early on January 17, hauling gear in toboggans for 17 kilometers in temperatures as low as –18°C (0°F). High winds sent spindrift cascading off the surrounding walls as they moved toward their objective, eventually establishing camp deep in the Valley of the Ten Peaks.
Conditions shifted overnight. By morning, calm air allowed the team to begin their ascent of Mount Deltaform via a series of exposed ramps leading into a couloir system. Near the top, where the line narrowed against rock bands, the team encountered one of the technical cruxes of the route: a sharp fin of snow guarding access to the hanging glacier above. After carefully crossing the fin, they built an anchor and rappelled into the glacier before climbing the steep upper section on foot.
From the summit, the descent unfolded in stages. The team skied from the top down to the edge of a hanging serac, then executed four rappels to access the lower glacier. From there, they were able to link turns through the North Glacier and ski the line back to camp, completing a descent that had never before been skied.
The North Glacier on Mount Deltaform is rarely attempted in any style, let alone on skis. Its remoteness, exposure to overhead hazard, and complex terrain make it a serious alpine objective where retreat options are limited and commitment is total. The successful first descent adds another significant chapter to Lustenberger’s growing legacy in big-mountain and high-alpine skiing, as well as to Harrington and Pierrel’s reputations as some of the most accomplished ski mountaineers of their generation. The achievement is a continued push in modern ski mountaineering toward exploratory objectives—not just repeating known classics, but venturing into rarely traveled terrain where maps offer little more than suggestion and success depends on patience, partnership, and precise decision-making.
