On an expedition to a remote North Western corner of Canada, Peter Mather found out about the hardships of a winter expedition. As an adventurous conservationist and photojournalist, Peter had long known about the annual Porcupine Caribou migration and his dream was to capture the perfect photo of them on their annual journey. In order to get there however he faced a daunting ski expedition that would test his physical and mental limits. We spoke to Peter about his story 'In Pursuit' and what happened when he was faced with a 120km ski expedition he wasn’t expecting.
When did you first start going on expeditions of this scale, like the one to photograph the caribou?
I have been doing expeditions since I was 20 but those were usually smaller scale, month long canoe trips in the height of summer. This was the first winter expedition I had ever done. It was a pretty big thing to tackle as a first trip, but things went amazingly well in terms of safety and equipment.
What caused you to initially be interested in the caribou and their migration?
I grew up in the Yukon, in Northwest Canada, where I spent a lot of time hunting with my father. Everyone who grows up in the Yukon hears about the caribou. They’re larger than life and anyone who has seen thousands of caribou moving together, says it’s something you could never forget. I’ve hears many stories about them over the years which has built my interest.
How did you plan for an expedition of this scale?
This story is from the June - July 2019 edition of Adventure Magazine.
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This story is from the June - July 2019 edition of Adventure Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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