DEH CHO - Three men from Belgium have accomplished a first in the history of the Nahanni National Park Reserve, skiing from Virginia Falls to just short of Nahanni Butte.

Nicolas Mouchart, Axel Arnould and Marco Vanderberghe started their ski trek on March 5 at the base of Virginia Falls. Their goal was to ski down the frozen South Nahanni River and reach Nahanni Butte, a distance of 220 km. The trio made it to between 170 and 180 km, just past the Kraus Hotsprings, when injury forced them to stop.

Marco Vanderberghe, left, and Axel Arnould stand at the base of an ice-encased Virginia Falls on the first day of their 170 km ski trek through Nahanni National Park Reserve. - photo courtesy of Nicolas Mouchart

An expedition of this magnitude was nothing new for the men. Mouchard and Arnould have crossed Iceland on skis, while Mouchard and Vanderberghe have skied in Greenland and Svalbard.

"We like snow, we like winter, we like camping in the snow," said Mouchard.

The men spent six months preparing for the trip, which included getting permission from the park's staff.

"We were pretty cautious," said Chuck Blyth, the park's superintendent.

Park staff explained the drawbacks of the plan to the Belgians, including snow conditions and open leads on the river. After extensive discussion, Blyth said staff were convinced the trio knew what they were doing and were well-prepared. Staff took the precaution of lending the group a park radio so they could provide updates on their status.

To supply the trip, each of the three men pulled 20 kg of food and 30 kg of gear on sleds. The group was ready for the ice, snow, temperatures of -40 C and open water. What they weren't expecting were the blocks of ice in the river.

Between Virginia Falls and The Gate the river was full of ice blocks ranging between 60 cm to three or four metres above level. Between the Flat River and The Gate in particular there was 25 km of almost nothing but ice blocks.

"Sometimes it took hours to make one kilometre," said Mouchart.

Ice conditions improved once the group passed The Gate on March 10. Travelling, however, still wasn't easy.

"Every day was very difficult," said Mouchart.

"It was a beautiful trip but it was so hard to do," said Arnould.

"It was not a piece of cake."

The men's daily routine included getting on their skis by 9 a.m. and stopping around 5:30 p.m. They averaged approximately 15 km a day. Temperatures were favourable, including an average of -10 C in the day and a minimum of -27 C at night.

An additional challenge the men came prepared for and faced was a lack of ice. In First Canyon the trio spent half a day pulling themselves and all of their gear across a 40-metre open lead in the river. Wearing a drysuit, something all of the men packed, Vanderberghe swam across the lead first with a rope and the others followed.

"It's a big thing to do," said Mouchart.

"If you are not a rope expert you can't do it. The current is unbelievably strong."

In the end, it was Vanderberghe's feet that ended the trip 40 km short of the goal. By the time the trio reached Deadmen Valley on March 13, Vanderberghe had more than six raw spots on his feet where the skin had come off, including one wound two inches long caused by chafing in his ski boots.

Vanderberghe skied four more days before the group had to stop on March 16, just past Kraus Hotsprings. They used their satellite phone to call for a helicopter pick-up.

Each of the men said it was a very memorable trip, with experiences that included seeing Virginia Falls completely enclosed in ice and having two wolves watch them from approximately 100 metres at their campsite in Deadmen Valley.

Although caution will be used to judge the viability of each trip, Chuck Blyth said he expects the Belgians' journey will be the first in a series of new adventures.

"I think we're going to see a rise of people wanting to do all sorts of recreation things in the park besides the river," said Blyth.