Elite runners plan traverse from Missoula to Banff

Whitefish photographer Steven Gnam will join The North Face athletes Mike Foote and Mike Wolfe this month in an attempt to run from Missoula to Banff, Alberta, in what they are calling the Crown of the Continent Traverse.

Traveling light and fast, a trio of elite long-distance runners would be the first to complete the 600-mile route in a “purist mountain running style.”

“This was something I’ve wanted to do since I attended the University of Montana in Missoula about 10 years ago,” Gnam told the Pilot. “I thought it would be interesting to leave my apartment and head north all the way to Canada.”

The Crown is considered one of the most intact ecosystems remaining in North America, stretching from Waterton Lakes and Glacier National Parks in the north, through the Bob Marshall Wilderness and down the Rocky Mountain Front to Missoula.

Gnam has spent years exploring the Crown with his camera and recently published his work in the book “Crown of the Continent — The Wildest Rockies.”

“After I spent five years working on the book, I wanted to do a trip that would traverse the Crown in a single push, which added on the Canadian portion of the Crown,” he said. “I had done many week-long trips in the Crown but wondered what the landscape would feel like if I traveled through it on one long trip.”

He reached out to Foote and Wolfe and learned they both wanted to do a similar long traverse.

“After that it made sense to do the trip together,” Gnam said. “We all have different reasons for doing the trip but enough in common to make a strong team.”

The running resume for Missoula’s Wolfe includes a second-place finish in the Ultra Tail du Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France — a race that’s considered one of the most challenging in the world.

Foote, also of Missoula, has tallied many notable accomplishments in his running career, including a course record in the Bighorn 100 in Wyoming and winning the 2013 Moab Trail Marathon.

Both are the founders of The Rut 50K mountain races at Big Sky.

The 25-day Crown traverse will begin at Foote’s home near the Rattlesnake Wilderness in Missoula.

“We will head north from there all the way to Banff,” Gnam said. “For much of the route we will be off-trail using ridgelines to link up mountain ranges. If the weather is really bad we have alternatives that would use lower elevation trails and roads.”

The team will be supported along the way by Whitefish professional freeskier and mountaineer David Steele, who will set up a camp each night and have a meal prepared.

“He will also provide us with up-to-date info on things such us trail closures and wildfires,” Gnam said.

Gnam plans to use the run to gain a better understanding of how wildlife interacts with and moves through the Crown landscape.

“I often talk about wildlife corridors and connectivity between protected areas but knew that having on-the-ground knowledge would help inform me better than the head knowledge I’d learned from wildlife studies,” Gnam said.

He’ll carry a camera along the way and will use the images to share the story of the traverse.

“My main focus is to complete the trip and be as present as possible,” Gnam said. “Since photography is my passion and art form I will carry a camera and document the journey, too.”

Follow their journey on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at #CrownTraverse. Foote and Wolfe will blog along the way, as well.