Innholdsfortegnelse for Fall 2025 i Explore Magazine

Last summer, I climbed Sky Pilot Mountain, near Squamish, British Columbia. As a full day adventure, which involved a steep forested trail, glacier travel and even Class 4 and 5 scrambling—it was a big challenge. (You can read about it at explore-mag.com.) At the time, it had been my toughest day-hike since my kids were born, five years earlier. I credit a lot of shorter hikes, cycling, SUPing and dog walking to my ability to complete the trek. But I was absolutely gassed after that day. In fact, I likely failed to enjoy certain parts as much as I could have—I was focusing more on putting one foot in front of the other. So, when the chance to trek in Patagonian Chile came up, a few months later, I knew…

Chris Pettingill’s political career started sitting in the snow and progressed to digging in the dirt. Living in Hamilton, Ontario in his thirties, he volunteered for The Chill Foundation, a program that introduced kids to snowboarding. When he moved to Squamish around 2010, he discovered he loved mountain biking, too, and started helping with the Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association, a mountain bike trail building and advocacy club. Working with SORCA led to volunteering for the Squamish Chamber of Commerce. “I was not necessarily interested in government, but volunteering showed me that giving back could be really fun and rewarding,” says Pettingill. “I started wondering, what impact could I have?” In 2018, he won a seat on Squamish district council. He’s now in his second term. Pettingill’s path to politics is…

Gear accumulation is a real problem for many outdoor enthusiasts—periodic herd reduction is essential. A few years back, I was trying to pre-emptively reduce these gear cornices—those unstable mounds that form when you repeatedly shove unused gear onto the top shelves of your garage, threatening a late-game Jenga-style collapse—when I found an old pack. It was in the bottom layer, and the extreme heat and pressure from the packs above had warped some of the nylon, seemingly reverting it to tar sands/oil/carbon. At least, that’s what I think was on the outside; it was hard to tell between the three large blood stains (elk, mine, and … who knows?) and what looked like smashed candy bar chunks (from bars that had been discontinued decades ago). The pack was an Arc’teryx,…

When most people think of Hamilton, Ontario, the first things that come to mind are usually smokestacks and steel. Once the industrial heartbeat of Canada, Hamilton earned nicknames like “Steel City” and “The Hammer” for its gritty reputation and working-class roots. But look a little closer, and you’ll find a city that’s far more dynamic than its tough exterior suggests. Today, Hamilton is a place where creativity thrives and community runs deep. My hometown is home to bustling farmers’ markets, intimate concert venues and galleries tucked into old factory buildings. It’s the kind of city where baristas know your order, local art lines the walls of busy breweries and neighbours turn sidewalks into front-porch gatherings. But perhaps Hamilton’s most surprising quality lies just beyond those vibrant streets: more than 100…

Leanna Carriere and Dr. Timm Döbert are planning a 30,000-kilometre cycle and packraft tour that parallels the epic journey of Whimbrels, a migrating shorebird that travels along the spine of the Americas from Alaska to Patagonia. Their expedition, called “Wings of Survival,” marries high-performance athleticism, science and conservation in a movement centred on telling impactful stories about the outdoors—rather than just having fun outside and posting cool photos. For Carriere, who is Canada’s first female decathlete, the wake-up call came after having her daughter, Adalynn, in 2017 when one of her endurance races in the Okanagan, BC was cancelled due to wildfires. “[Wildfires are] just happening more and more. All these efforts we’re putting into our own health and our own passionate goals are now being affected directly by the…

In the past few years, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—better known as PFAS—have gone from obscurity to mainstream discourse in the outdoor industry. Known colloquially as “forever chemicals,” PFAS has been listed as a “chemical of concern” by Health Canada, and many regions, particularly countries in the European Union and U.S. states like California, are quickly moving towards partial or outright bans on their usage. The roughly 5,000 known chemical compounds that utilize PFAS are remarkably effective at resisting water, stains, grease and oil. As such, PFAS has long been a key ingredient in the durable water repellent (DWR) coatings found on much of our outdoor gear. In short, it’s been the stuff that made water bead off your new jacket. But PFAS is bad for humans and the environment, with…

Not-So-Core THE TREND: We’ve all seen that the outdoors are getting busier, but at the same time, the number of people who consider themselves a core or regular participant in one activity continues to fall. So does the need for specialized apparel. In their place, versatile threads are trending, especially if they look casual enough to wear anywhere. THE GEAR: The Vuori Aspen Shirt Jacket is made from Polartec’s Wind Pro, a super tightly weaved fleece fabric. It has a button-down shirt style, but with a super soft and cozy technical fabric that’s wind-resistant, breathable and hydrophobic. It kept us toasty on a chilly hike and looked sharp when we stopped at a pub on the way home. $170; vuoriclothing.ca Go Faster Features THE TREND: Light and fast has been…

There’s nothing like unzipping your tent door and getting nose-to-nose with a mountain billy goat to start your morning. That was me a few summers ago, when I woke up at the climber’s campground near the base of Gimli Peak in Valhalla Provincial Park. The billy’s razor-sharp horns were hard to ignore. He gazed at me with yellow, oval-shaped eyes, as if waiting for me to get up, which is in fact exactly what he was doing. It was unnerving but also exhilarating to be so close to such a beautiful creature. He eventually retreated to a regal perch atop a nearby two-storey high boulder. From there, he could observe the dozen or so kids and nannies grazing among the four tents scattered around the campsite. I had been forewarned.…

www.canoenorthadventures.com 519-941-6654 The Nahanni River by Raft– An epic adventure, dramatic canyons and iconic Virginia Falls ICONIC, MAJESTIC haunting with jaw-dropping scenery, the fabled Nahanni River. By raft, this is a perfect family-style trip for all ages and skill levels. The roller-coaster waves through the legendary canyons are fun and challenging for intermediate to advanced paddlers. Highlights include Virginia Falls, Pulpit Rock, Hell’s Gate, Kraus Hot Spring and Sunblood Mountain. Memories for life around every bend, 11-day by raft. The Keele River – Classic and friendly whitewater with spectacular mountain scenery FAST AND FRIENDLY whitewater carving a turquoise path through dramatic ranges of the Mackenzie Mountains. Ideal for intermediate paddlers and perfect for a multi-generational family adventure. World-class fly fishing for arctic grayling or bull trout and epic hikes into the alpine with breathtaking panoramic views and…