CANMORE – Blasting down five toonie-sized targets in a row from 50 metres away seems like a cinch compared to Canmore biathlete Haldan Borglum’s recent mountain adventure accomplishment, which might be a first-ever in the area.
Describing the mighty feat as life changing, peak crusher Borglum has stood atop every mountain and summit visible from the town of Canmore boundary – 94 in all – which he hiked, rock climbed, rappelled, scrambled and bushwhacked through the Rockies over a three-year stretch to complete his “Canmore Mountain List.”
Every named and unnamed peak with 300 feet or more of prominence was set up and knocked down in the 23-year-old sharpshooter’s hit list, which he completed in a staggering 800 kilometres, with approximately 70 km in elevation gain.
In biathlon, shooting down targets is part of the game, but after this, Borglum might be best known for picking off peaks.
“The start of it [in 2020] was super exciting to see new areas and go to new places; by this year, I was definitely pushing for it, I really wanted to get it done,” said Borglum. “There were some days that were tougher than others, and I had to force myself into doing them. Even with that said, there were def fun days. Having finished it now … it was all worth it in the end.”
Like a lot of adrenaline junkies in 2020, Borglum was itching for his fix when the world shut down that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fastest known times were being broken in record numbers and the mountains called to many seeking new challenges.
Borglum and fellow biathlon marksman Troy Martel went a step further after spending a day out climbing Rimwall in Kananaskis Country. Standing on the breathtaking peak, they looked around at all the mountains and decided it would be fun to climb every peak they could see – something they weren’t sure had been done ever before, even to this day.
“That was definitely a big motivator as well,” said Borglum. “It’s possible someone has done it and it's unknown, and it’s also possible it’s never been done, so being the only person that’s done something like this, why not? That’s a cool bucket list item.
“We were trying to be pretty serious about it,” Borglum continued.
“Even in the last few weeks, I was looking around to see if I did everything in the area and I'd scope out something that I hadn’t seen in the past and I was like ‘oh, crap. I can see that. I gotta go for that,’ so that was added to the list as well.”
Google Maps, AllTrails and other mountain peak apps were used to assist in the long journey. Only Borglum completed the entire list, which he did either in solo trips or with other mountaineers; however, Martel was there with his biathlon chum on the final ascent – and descent – of Little Sister of the popular trio of peaks.
“Once we were done with the rappels, it felt like the end of an era,” said Borglum.
SOME DANGEROUS TERRAIN AND CLOSE CALLS
Sitting victorious on the throne of the marked-off mountains, Borglum said the past three years were “challenging, but worth pursuing” – even when falling rocks flew past his head.
As memorable as it was to complete the mega achievement, there were a few dangerous moments for the biathlete, like when Borglum almost reenacted the role of Piggy in The Lord of the Flies.
“I’ve had a couple rocks coming barrelling down beside me that didn’t hit me and I was like, 'oh geez, that’s why you wear a helmet type of thing [while rock climbing],” Borglum said with a laugh. “But luckily, I never had any broken bones or concussion or crazy falls.”
The tallest mountain Borglum summited was Wind Mountain in Kananaskis Country at 3,153 metres; however, it was far from the hardest peak, he said.
That honour goes to Mount Peechee near Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park (2,935 metres), which was a maze to complete “because of the complete lack of information on it.”
Some peaks had no beta, meaning there was no or almost no information about how to ascend a climbing route.
“I would just send it and figure it out,” said Borglum. “Fear is a big factor in the mountains.
“There was definitely a turning point in completing the list, where I went from I hope we can pull this off to OK let’s make this happen. The satisfaction of pushing through, even when there was some tough days in there, and getting it done was really motivating.”
DONE WITH PEAKS … FOR NOW
A high-level biathlete, Borglum is back to pursuing his goals in biathlon. However, he hopes to start knocking off some 11,000ers eventually, which is a list of peaks in the Rockies that are at least 11,000 feet and known to be difficult to ascend and descend.
“I’m going to be all-in with biathlon and won’t be touching mountains for a while,” said Borglum.
Borglum’s goal is to be named to the national team in the sport that combines cross-country skiing and target shooting with a rifle. Training with the Biathlon Alberta Training Centre (BATC) in Canmore, Borglum competed in the IBU Cup circuit last season, which is the sport’s second highest level of international competition. This is his sixth season with the club.
Although physically tough, even as a high-performance athlete, with some days in the backcountry being more than 40 km in a single push, Borglum said he’s noticed the benefits in his training while completing the Canmore mountain list.
“It’s endurance training and mental resilience training on long days,” said Borglum. “I feel like coming off that list and having done some of those huge days, the biathlon training, it puts it in perspective like I can bang out a two-hour roller ski now and it doesn't feel so bad at all.”
Biathlon selection trials take place Nov. 1-5 on Frozen Thunder at the Canmore Nordic Centre, where athletes attempt to make it on the world cup and IBU cup circuits.
