Former Canadian cyclist and cross-country skier Alain Masson encountered a pack of wolves on what was meant to be a leisurely ski over the weekend.
Halfway through his 80 kilometre trip, circling Teresa Island in British Columbia, Masson spotted a pack of what appeared to be a dozen wolves through his binoculars.
After failing to ski away before they took notice, Masson was forced to stop as they split up and surrounded him. “Two of the larger ones went behind me, and then the rest was in a half-circle in front of me, maybe 50 metres in front of me. And then I didn’t really know what to do.” Masson told CBC.
“I was trying to think more of it as curiosity—trying to remember that there’s very few known attacks on humans by wolves. So, trying to stay positive.”
When they didn’t disperse, Masson chose to treat the encounter as he would for bears. He waved his poles, mades noises, and aggressively skated towards them in his attempt to scare them off. Eventually, all but two fled, so he made his move to get away.
“They just kept their distance and followed me for a little bit, and [then] walked towards the other ones.”
Thankfully, though a little shaken, Masson was unharmed.
