For the Canadian Marceau, victory is extra sweet: this is believed to be the first recorded ascent by a woman of a major subarctic peak in winter. “Women have done winter climbs in the Himalayas, closer to the equator, but as far as I have been able to confirm, no female has ever been up one of these high-latitude, high-altitude peaks in the winter,” she says. 

With Mt. Wood under their belt, Dupre and Marceau have not ruled out a future attempt to summit Mt. Lucania in the winter. A first winter ascent of Lucania was the original goal of their 2018 expedition, supported by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and the 5,240-metre peak was a contender for this year’s climb, but deep crevasses in the icefields at the base of the mountain have made it impossible to find safe landing spots two years running. 

For Dupre, an American and 30-year veteran of polar exploration and mountaineering who turns 58 next month, part of the appeal of winter climbing lies in the challenge and unpredictability.

“Everything takes two to three times longer in the winter, and it places a lot of stress on your body and mind, but I’ll soon forget the hardships we just went through,” he says. “As long as my body and my love of the mountains hold out, I can see us going back next February or March and giving it another try.”

As for Marceau, she hopes her accomplishment inspires more women to try winter mountaineering. “You have to like winter,” she says, “but get yourself some good gear and mentors and talk to some people about the tricks of winter climbing and give it a try. 

“There’s more out there still to be climbed, so let’s go get ‘er.”