On our next stop we head to some of the most rugged mountains within all of Canada. Someone who has his touring system dialed from what he eats to how much distance he skins in a day. His website treepilot.ca has become a resource for like minded ski mountaineers all over the Canadian Rockies and Selkirk Mountains. In this interview we talk about Wades progression from lift riding only twice a year to over 70 days almost exclusively Splitboarding in a season.
Name: Wade Galloway
Primary Location, Home Mountain, or Home Range: I try to travel quite a bit, but most of the time is spent close to home in Waterton
Age: 33
Primary Solid Board: I don’t ride sold boards anymore although with a young son starting to snowboard, I might have to stop boycotting chairlifts. I had 70+ days last winter and only rode a chair once (with him). Everything else was on the splitboard.
Primary Split Board: Prior Khyber 160 for soft boot, Prior Spearhead 166 for hard boot.
Preferred Binding System: I’m torn since getting into hard boots last season, but at the moment, it’s Dynafit or Spark Fuses.
Boot: Garmont Helium or Burton Driver X
How Long Have You Been Snowboarding Semi-Professionally? I wouldn’t call it semi-professional, but I’ve been sliding sideways for 20 years and on snow since I was 2 or 3 years old
How Long Have You Been Splitboarding? 5 years
What Compelled You to Begin Splitboarding? There was a dark period of my life when I didn’t snowboard much, maybe only once or twice a year for several years. Part of this was due to living in the flats, but another contributing factor was the direction of the sport. The soul of the sport had died. It seemed almost everyone snowboarded, but most didn’t know why. The early days of snowboarding provided a camaraderie that came with doing something new and unique.
In the winter of 05/06 I moved closer to the mountains and attempted to make up for lost time. I bought lift tickets to various resorts but found the experience lacking. Try as I might, “packed powder” or corduroy or worse didn’t get me stoked. I tried mechanized including sled, helicopter and snow cat access. The spark was reignited (how can you not love riding powder?), but I was left feeling frustrated by compromises that this form of access provided.
I discovered splitboarding in the winter of 06/07 and couldn’t be happier. I’ve always enjoyed exploring and my splitboard has enabled me to combine this love of new things with my passion of snowboarding. I feel reinvigorated and I’ve learned new things about myself. Backcountry touring is as much about exploring mountains as it is about exploring your own limits – endurance, focus, fear, stamina,
strength, will, courage, etc.
Most Memorable Glacier Travel: I’ve not spent a ton of time on glaciers, so the most memorable was probably this July. A boat ride to another country, long hike through scree and shrubs, then scratching and clawing our way up to the glacier. Just as we neared it, the chill was refreshing as the cool air poured off it. Check it out here.
Where has Split Boarding taken you? To my happy place in the mountains. Currently that includes 3 countries (Canada, USA, Japan), 2 provinces (Alberta and BC) and 4 states (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington)
Gnarliest or most Extensive Approach for a Single Line: I’ve had bigger and longer days, but the first time to the Galloway Bowl (coined by a Warden in the park) is memorable to me. Freak late season storm, long walk, quasi-legal international border crossing, first tracks ever from what we can tell in a remote north facing bowl. 15 miles and 6,500 feet.
Ideal Backcountry Day: -5C, great stability, 1-3 friends, 30cm fresh over night, partly sunny, slight breeze, 40-45 degree trees.
Lifetime Goal or Objective, a Line You’ve Been Eyeing for a While, or What Would Be your Dream Trip?
I’d like to live right in the mountains some day so I could wake up and skin from my house. Near term, there’s some stuff 1-2 days walk from the trail head in Canada that’s deep in Glacier National Park (USA) I’d love to put some tracks on. I got a good look state side this winter on a clear day from a ridge very close to the border. It’s been stuck in my head ever since. I’d also like to get back to Japan in a good snow year and have a very strong desire to shred out east, particularly the Chic Chocs.
Favorite Backcountry Meal: Pepsi and gummy bears. Quick sugar and easy to eat. When you’re pushing your body doesn’t have time to digest real food anyway.
Favorite Piece of Gear (and Why): Tough choice, but I’d have to go with the splitboard itself. Without it, all the other gear wouldn’t be quite as much fun.
Favorite Place You’ve Travelled (and Why): I have fond memories of lots of places, but the Kootenays are always right up there. Lots of great friends old and new coupled with some amazing tree riding.
Print/ Movie Appearances : With more than 50% of the days being solo and often focusing on bagging as much vertical as we can when I’m not solo, cameras are often nothing more than a point and shoot. I did get lucky in Japan though and wound up with this spread.
Local Causes You’re Passionate About: I’ve donated a ton of time this off season to helping the local skateboard association secure new parks.
Other Stuff You Do (music, volunteerism, art, school, etc.): Fitness is important for the winter, I lift weights and have run a few marathons to stay in shape. I try to use the off season to spend as much time with the family as possible. It’s hard being away in the winter for extended periods.
Website/Blog: http://www.treepilot.ca/
