Kulshan

Qwú’mə Kwəlshéːn (Koma Kulshan meaning White Sentinel or Puncture Wound) is the traditional Lummi name for Mount Baker, a 3286-metre active glaciated stratovolcano in the North Cascade Mountains of so-called Washington State in Nooksack territory. The mountain is one of the snowiest places on earth, and its white peak is a prominent feature on the skylines of Vancouver and Victoria. As Mount Fuji does for Tokyo, Kulshan provides a continual point of reference and fascination for an urban spectator, appearing, disappearing, and transforming as light and weather conditions change. I can see the mountain from my home in Victoria on Lək̓ʷəŋən territory. From a distance, it is tranquil and alluring; up close, it is a formidable, glaciated, high-altitude environment with massive crevasses, outcroppings of crumbly volcanic rock, and dangerous overhanging snow cornices. Despite the mountain’s hostile environment to humans, Kulshan hosts a delicate ecosystem that is home to glacier worms, marmots, rare flowers, hummingbirds, and mountain goats. Koma Kulshan has been known to the inhabitants of these territories for millennia as the “white sentinel,” but it is currently threatened by global climate change and is regularly blotted out from the skyline for months during what are now annual forest fire seasons. 

As an artwork, Kulshan is both an expedition and meditation on the landscape of the Pacific Northwest and a portrait of the mountain. Shot during the three-day trek up the mountain and back, principal filming for this project took place on July 12, 2022. Simultaneous to our recording of our summit attempt, a crew in Victoria shot a continuous take from dawn until dusk using a telescopic lens—resulting in two distinct views of the mountain on the same day. The images in this layout are drawn from this footage and represent a loose storyboard for the forthcoming video installation, complete with zooms, pans, and transitions. 

Paul Walde is an interdisciplinary artist living in Victoria, BC on lək̓ʷəŋən territory. He is best known for his interdisciplinary performance works staged in the natural environment. Documentation of these events is frequently used as the basis of sound and video installations that have been exhibited nationally and internationally.

Glacial Study No.1 (2022) 

Glacial Study No.1 is a sound study of a glacier melting modified by musical instruments utilized as speakers. The resonant frequencies and materials of the instruments act as acoustic signal processors. Using violin, viola, cello, double bass, timpani, and cymbals fitted with sonic transducers, over the course of the work, naturalistic field recordings are transformed into the resonant frequencies of the instruments which form the basis of the sound composition. The field recordings were recorded at the Coleman Glacier at Kushan aka Mount Baker, Washington.

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Credits

Here: Lək̓ʷəŋən Territory
Cinematography and still photography: Arnold Lim
Data wrangling, still and video post-production, design: Nick Patterson

There: Nooksack Territory
Cinematography: Casey Dubois
Still photography: Michael Andrew McLean
Video and audio: Paul Walde
Mountaineering Guide: Tali Levin
Basecamp support team: Christine Walde, Miles Walde, and Zoe Walde

Layout: Paul Walde and Nick Patterson

This article is published in issue 39.3 of BlackFlash magazine. Get this issue