Hi, I’m Naomi Prohaska and I’m a passionate mountain lover and climate advocate! Currently I am resting and exploring on the beautiful, traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Líl̓wat and St’át’imc peoples (Pemberton, BC). I recently graduated with my bachelors degree, studying environmental sciences and climate action at the University of British Columbia. I was inspired to study the natural world around me because of my deep love of exploring the mountains, and what I can do to make it a better place. It has been such a blessing to have worked in conservation since graduating and I am excited for more opportunities to practice environmentalism and climate justice. My life is a mix of many things, one of which is exploring the mountains. In 2017 I was so blessed to become the youngest person to climb the tallest mountain in Canada, Mt. Logan. I did this alongside my dad, Rich Prohaska, who was an ACMG mountain guide and nicknamed “Mr. Logan”.
The biggest part of my last couple years was saying goodbye to my dad who fought stage 4 colon cancer with both ferocity and grace for 4.5 years and passed on in December of 2023. He was a warrior through treatment leading trad climbs and doing the Grouse Grind while actively receiving chemo through an IV port, and I was able to do ski traverses with him while we was in remission throughout that time, but this did slow down my mountain exploration a lot as he was my main climbing partner and I am so grateful for all the amazing adventures we had together. In the Spring of 2025 I graduated from UBC with a B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences and a certificate in Climate Studies and Action. Throughout the past 5 years at UBC I have been able to integrate my love for the outdoors with a future career which has been super exciting. I also have been able to experience the mountains in a less intense way shifting from being led to being a leader in forming a community in which I have been able to introduce friends to lots of my favourite backcountry spots. Some skiing highlights have been a traverse from the Pemberton Valley to the Birkenhead Valley, exiting 2 kilometres from my family home, doing the Garibaldi Neve traverse in a day and climbing Mt. Hood. I have also started trail running with big routes in the Garibaldi Park, the Howe Sound Crest Trail and Diez Vista 50k race. Below I have recounted a bit of my story and what led to me finding such a stoke for adventure. I am incredibly privileged and thankful to have grow up in the beautiful town of Pemberton BC, on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Lil’wat nation. Pemberton is an incredibly active community and close to ski hot spot Whistler and rock climbing mecca Squamish. I am so blessed to have been surrounded by amazing locations, sports and athletes for so long.
Here is a little recap of how I got involved in the outdoor scene! My father moved to Whistler when he was 19 and never looked back. He was a ski and climbing bum, living in a van before it was trendy for 10 years. He was a certified ACMG (Association of Canadian Mountain Guides) and IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations) guide since the early 2000s. He and my mother introduced me to skiing when I was 2 years old and climbing at around 5. However, I didn’t particularly like either for most of my childhood of them and was never pushed to be a good skier or climber.
In the Spring of 2015 I attended a presentation in Whistler where I heard about some amazing trips that people were doing in the Sea to Sky Corridor and around the world. This inspired me to do the Spearhead Traverse, a 3 day ski traverse in the backcountry connecting Blackcomb to Whistler mountain. Having never been ski touring and hating bootpacking, it seemed odd that I was inspired to try it. I’m so glad I did because I immediately fell in love. I spent my first three days in the backcountry with my dad and another father daughter pair. It was unlike anything I had ever done. Being out in the open with just the sky and the snow was such an amazing experience, and pushing myself physically and mentally was so motivating.
Soon after that I had an even crazier thought. I decided I wanted to be the youngest person to climb Mt. Logan, the tallest mountain in Canada. My father has done over a dozen trips in the park where Mt. Logan is situated, Kluane National Park. He has guided on Mt. Logan 8 times since I was born. When I look back I still find it crazy how I could decide to do something like that with such little experience. From then until May 2017, Mt. Logan consumed my world.
Throughout those 2 years I learned the basics of mountaineering, and I wouldn’t trade the experiences I got from training for anything. I learned how to ski tour, how to do avalanche and crevasse rescue, summitted 15 mountains, did 4 traverses and so much more. Then in May 2017, I flew to Mt. Logan. I was on the mountain for 3 weeks, and they were the best and the worst of my life. They showed me how magnificent and merciless the mountains can be. My love for the wilderness was reinforced immensely during those 21 days.
Picture taken by Holly Walker
As a plus, I achieved my goal! I am now the youngest person ever to have climbed Canada’s tallest mountain. To learn more about my Logan expedition click here . If you want to get regular updates follow me on Instagram or subscribe to my blog. To contact me please email naomiprohaska@gmail.com or send me a message below.