The first time I did the Spearhead Traverse in a day, my brother Andy and I were on secura fixes, purple skins, and some random 200 cm race skis. At the end of the traverse we heard that Pennywise, an iconic punk band, was playing a gig that night in Whistler. They ended up playing two sold out shows that night. We were exhausted, but went to both shows…. I still remember high fiving Dan Treadway at 3am, near the end of the second show at Merlins. Fast forward…. years later…. I found myself on a clear beautiful day with Josh Hall, Rudy Benes and my brother Andy. Aboard a sick set up (ION binding, G3 Synapse ski, Alpinist skins) Andy I were aiming to complete Spearhead Traverse #20 and #24 respectively. We just can’t get enough I guess.
And guess what happened at the end of the traverse? Josh mentioned that Pennywise was playing in Vancouver. "Would you like to go?" He asked. "I have a bunch of tickets". My answer was obvious. As I finish writing this, I can say I survived another session of the Pennywise mosh pit bliss, and am looking forward to as more Spearhead laps in the future. Long live winter, and Pennywise. -Mike
Author: Mike Traslin
Hailing from G3's backyard in North Vancouver, BC, Mike Traslin has been deep in the mountains for decades, summer or winter, on skis, feet or wheels. On snow he raced for the Canadian Ski Mountaineering team for 9 years, qualifying for the World Championships in 2008 and 2010, and landing on the Alpental Ski Mountaineering podium 6 times. His mountain bike career took off when he was the youngest (18) to qualify and compete in the first World Mountain Bike Championships. On snow he raced for the Canadian Ski Mountaineering team for 9 years, qualifying for the World Championships in 2008 and 2010, and landing on the Alpental Ski Mountaineering podium 6 times. Setting his sights deeper into the mountains, he scored first descents of Mt Chris Spencer, Waddintgon Range, new lines in the Mt Logan St Elias region, and all sorts of adventures in between.
His global ski wanderings have taken him on adventures into the Coast and Interior of British Columbia, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Yukon, and onwards to wide open spaces in South America, the Steeps of Europe (La Grave, Chamonix, Switzerland), the Tetons of Wyoming, the Sierras of California and many states and provinces in between.
