A B.C. mountain is being named in memory of a North Shore mountain guide and avalanche safety advocate.
Mount Mathieson is about 20 kilometres northeast of Toba Inlet and 90 km north-northeast of Powell River on the province’s west coast and reaches a height of 2,323 metres.
The peak is named after Brent Mathieson, who died in a highway accident in 2002 at the age of 32, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations recently announced.
Born and raised in Burnaby, Mathieson became an experienced mountain guide and avalanche safety professional. According to a press release, his career included leadership roles with the Cypress Mountain ski patrol team and North Shore Rescue. He also served as the west coast director of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides.
Dedicated to public education, Mathieson spearheaded the creation of the North Shore Avalanche Advisory — a safety bulletin that summarized winter mountain conditions, offered travel advice and provided up-to-date information about snowpack conditions, avalanche activity and current hazards in the backcountry.
This publication later reached a wider audience when it was incorporated into Avalanche Canada’s public bulletin on avalanche safety.
While working as a heli-ski guide, Mathieson was the first person to ski the 2,000-metre run from the top of his namesake mountain to Montrose Creek, a path that became known as Brent’s Run.
