Matt passed away this spring. Nearly every day I think about his death, his life and his impact on me.

Primomo was an enigma. He was the vision, the motivation and the logistics manager of our Boston to Logan Traverse (BLT). Primo strived for the obscure, the unusual, and the lines that no one else saw. He was an artist of the mountain craft. Matt was a man of subtleties. He loved the nuance and as much as he was a scientist, more importantly he was an artist. An artist not in the typical way, but one who paints lines on the mountain canvas.

I looked up to Primo in every way. He was 5 years my senior but felt like an old sage. He would always spout wisdom of the snow while wandering around the hills. I admired the way he studied the Stuart Range, taking pictures of peaks from every angle. Exploring the zones that no one else went to all while moving through the mountains with such ease.

Matt, skeemed up the BLT based off of Lowell Skoog’s Logan High Route Traverse. Our crew (Sam Duke, John Place, Primo and I) spent 4 days on the traverse. I showed up on day 2 due to a work commitment but caught up to them before going over Boston/Sahale saddle.

This was our first crux. Rime traversing over the grossest rock in the Cascades. If you have ever been to Boston Peak in the summer, you know the heinousness of the rock. And if you haven’t visited Boston, don’t! JK.

After navigating the rimy ridge we skied down below Buckner. Sam and Primo went for a lap on the N face, while John and I waited. I was smoked, cause this was my day 1 and I knew I wouldn’t be much use later if I kept going up.

*Sam and Primo skiing the N face of Buckner!

Cool Ice lines on Buckner for who ever wants to make the walk

From Buckner we crossed into Thunder Basin. Skied a beautiful couloir that takes you down to the trees. The line down was fairly finicky and wouldn’t go if there was less snow.

From Thunder Basin we walked up the SW face of the Logan Massif to the Fremont Glacier. From there we climbed a steep M3 mixed pitch with no gear, and heavy packs. Sam lead the pitch, in classic Duke boldness. Even following it with packs and crampons was a challenge.

Would highly recommend bring a couple pins, nuts and a cam or two if repeating this traverse.

After this pitch we summited the middle peak of Logan and descended a new ski line off its NE face. Taking it down to the Douglas Glacier we were rewarded with a playful glacial skate park.

After camping one more night in Fisher Creek we then hiked and skied out Easy Pass in the rain. As always you can have a proper Cascadian adventure without a little rain!