Logan

Canada’s highest mountain, St. Elias Mountain range, Mount Logan, Kluane National Park & Reserve, Yukon. 34” x 108”, oil on linen, 2020

From the TrueWild: Kluane Project

Crisp air and blue sky enveloped me as I unclipped my ski boots. Here, on the largest mountain massif on earth, I set up my easel on 13 feet of snow over top of a kilometre thick layer of ice, at almost 10,000 ft. Looming before me was a mountain that rose even further yet, with the highest peak in all of Canada: Mount Logan. As I tried to capture the wonder of it all with my paints, the sun dipped below a nearby ridge and plunged me in a chilling shadow. Then, as it neared the horizon hidden far beyond, the sun’s warm glow slowly faded off the mountain. With the show ending, I layered up for the short ski trip back to my tent, only to discover that a new light show had begun. The landscape was now transformed by the ethereal light of a now-risen moon.