Issue 2 of The High Route Journal is a beautifully produced, long-form print journal built for people who love the mountains—especially the kind of people who don’t just care about the descent, but the whole journey.
This issue leans hard into ski mountaineering storytelling, with a strong focus on Mount Robson and the kind of objectives that feel equal parts inspiring, intimidating, and wildly human.
The cover image—shot by Blake Gordon—captures Christina “Lusti” Lustenberger and Gee Pierell on their historic first ski descent of Mount Robson’s South Face. The photo highlights the scale of the face (and the sheer smallness of the humans moving through it), as the duo enters a feature they named Gee’s Couloir.
Inside, Issue 2 includes two major Robson features:
“Growth and Inspiration on the Mountain of the Spiral Road” by Adam Fabrikant, a personal and historically rich piece tracing the evolution of ski mountaineering on Robson.
“Connecting the Dots on Robson’s South Face”, a first-person account by Lusti and Gee, blending oral history and reflection from their South Face experience.
Beyond Robson, Issue 2 delivers a stacked lineup of stories, photo essays, poetry, and creative work:
Diego Saez, Chilean mountain guide, shares a striking photo essay that will make you want to point your skis south.
Luke Hinz and Noah Kuhns document a Baffin Island expedition in “Fiery Furnace,” where skiing takes a back seat to a very real polar bear problem.
Madeleine Martin-Preney reflects on a massive first: traversing the full length of the Canadian Selkirks in “Rising and Falling.”
Andy Lewicky offers a moving piece about family, loss, and finding purpose after the Palisades Fire in LA—told through the lens of touring.
A four-part series titled “Applied Science”, featuring three splitboarders responding to the same writing prompt—with three completely different results.
Poetry from Leath Tonino, plus creative historical deep-dives like “Art of the Ski Runner.”
A playful photo essay from Chamonix-based photographer Layla Kerley: “Arc of the Sun: When will we need headlamps?”
A closing profile and celebration of the Greater Yellowstone: “Unlost in the Greater Yellowstone” by Jason Albert.
The High Route Journal is independent, reader-first, and built around long-form storytelling—not affiliate links, not sponsored fluff, and not algorithm bait.
If you love ski touring, ski mountaineering, splitboarding, and the culture around moving through big terrain under your own power, Issue 2 belongs on your coffee table (and in your pack for hut trips).
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