Kevin White completed his 1,500th scaling of Nanaimo's Mt. Benson on Tuesday, Sept. 23 with his dog Ollie, his wife and some family friends. (submitted photo/Kevin White)

By Alex Rawnsley

MOUNTAIN MAN

Nanaimo man celebrates 1,500th summit of Mt. Benson

Sep 24, 2021 | 7:27 AM

NANAIMO — A love affair which started 20 years ago recently reached a major milestone.

Kevin White celebrated his 1,500th ascent of Mt. Benson, just west of Nanaimo, on Tuesday, Sept. 21. It was the culmination of hours of hiking dating back to Apr. 28, 2000.

The former road runner found the seven kilometre loop, with a 700+ metre elevation change, a unique fitness challenge after pounding the pavement began to take a toll on his knees and hips.

“I found I could get the same aerobic workout going uphill then unlike running, every foot fall is a little bit different so you’re not loading up exactly the same part of your leg every time,” White told NanaimoNewsNOW.

White said the trails were in magnificent condition on Tuesday, following some recent rain, with treks up during the summer proving a little slippery thanks to the dry, dusty trail.

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White, with his wife Leslie (2nd left) and their friends, Ann and Paul Gordon, following a hike on Tuesday, Sept. 21. (submitted photo/Kevin White)

White grew up in Saanich but moved to Nanaimo with his wife, Leslie, around 35 years ago.

He hikes Benson year round, including when its covered in snow during the winter. The popularity of the trail has grown exponentially in recent years, largely due to word of mouth.

“I would sometimes do winter hiking and my footprints were there from 10 days ago and there was no new footprints in the snow so I knew I was the only one doing it at that point,” White said. “Now…I go down there sometimes before 7 a.m. and there’s already people coming down the hill.”

White scaling Mt. Benson during the winter months, just one of his 1,500 climbs over 20 years. (submitted photo/Kevin White)

He credited the Nanaimo Area Lands Trust for preserving a large section of the mountain’s front face years ago, as well as many volunteers who help keep trails in top shape year-round.

White added he’ll complete a round-trip in just under two hours and will often see several regulars on any given day. The trail also changes constantly with different surface and weather conditions, leading to evolving challenges for each trek.

In all of his years conquering Mt. Benson, White said he’d encountered just one black bear which quickly ran away.

“I’ve seen fresh cougar tracks probably four or five times, that always gets my hackles up but I just try to keep making noise, keep moving. I’ve never seen a cougar but I wouldn’t be surprised if one’s seen me.”

White also offered some advice for newcomers to climbing Benson.

“Give yourself lots of time on your first times up, don’t say “so and so does it in three hours, so I can do it in three hours,” some people take five hours. You’ve got to give yourself time, have some perseverence, just pace yourself.”

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alex.rawnsley@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley