Canadian Mountain Holidays, the first heli-ski operation in the world, had a predominantly all-male clientele when it started flying guests from its rustic lumber camp “accommodations” to pristine powder snow in the Bugaboo Mountains in 1965.
After it built the Bugaboo Lodge in 1968, the only women usually present were housekeepers and kitchen staff.
The Banff, Alberta-based company began marketing to women in the 1980s, thanks to the efforts of the late Mark Kingsbury, a former do-it-all laborer at the Bugaboo Lodge who worked his way up to become president and chief executive officer in 1991.
10 reasons to join ‘Chicks in the Chopper’
Ellen Slaughter, the host of Canadian Mountain Holidays’ “Chicks in the Chopper” trip from March 31 to April 5 at the Galena Lodge in British Columbia, put together a Top 10 list of why women should sign up for it.
10. The exhilaration of pushing your limits.
9. Mouth-watering meals — prepared by someone else.
8. Laughter — side-splitting laughter and lots of it.
7. Five days just for YOU.
6. Apres ski — muscle-melting massages, sipping cocktails in the roof-top hot tub, telling the day’s tales, fireside chats.
5. Sharing the adventure with other like-minded women from all over the world, many of whom will become forever friends.
4. Skiing with hunky, snow-savvy guides, the best in the business.
3. Rotor fever!
2. The kick-ass skiing.
1. Going home feeling empowered and invigorated.
For more information, go to www.canadianmountain holidays.com or call toll-free 1-800-661-0252.
– Lawrence Walsh
It wasn’t until April 1990 that an equal number of men and women arrived at a CMH lodge for a week of heli-skiing in the Purcell Mountains, about 116 miles southwest of Banff. Nine of the 22 male guests were from Pittsburgh.
When we boarded a bus at the Calgary airport that would take us to a heli-pad for the airlift to the remote lodge, a familiar gray-haired woman sitting behind the driver smiled and said hello. It wasn’t until I reached my seat in the back of the bus that I recalled being introduced to her some years before.
She was Andrea Mead Lawrence, the winner of two gold medals — slalom and giant slalom — at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway. Her daughter, a veteran ski instructor at Aspen, gave her a heli-ski trip for her birthday. Ms. Lawrence turned 58 that month.
I told her the Pittsburgh group — Ed Beachler, John Bingler, Mark Frank, Louis Kushner, Curt Marquard, Tony Powell, Stan Ruskin, Scott Zimmerman and myself — would be delighted if she would ski with our group during the week.
She would and she did.
Heli-skiing is all about making turns in new powder snow, the deeper the better. And the turning is easier, thanks to wider skis specially designed for powder skiing. Skiing through knee- to waist-deep powder is like floating on a cloud. There is nothing like it in the world.
The guides meet each morning to review the terrain to be skied. Safety is paramount. Pits five to six feet deep are dug into the snowpack on a regular basis to assess the quality and stability of the snow. If there are any concerns about skiing on open slopes, the guides lead guests through the powder in stands of towering evergreens. Average snowfall is 45 feet.
The guides use radios to stay in touch with one another, the helicopter pilot and the lodge. There also are radios in backpacks worn by at least two guests in each group of 11 skiers. Guides and guests also wear transceivers that can transmit and receive a signal.
There are about 10 to 12 runs a day, sometimes more. There are opportunities to take a break during each run and at the bottom while waiting for the helicopter. Guests usually can return to the lodge when the pilot flies back to refuel in the morning and afternoon or after lunch.
Heli-skiing
The cost of Canadian Mountain Holidays’ “Chicks in the Chopper” trip — $5,651 per person, double occupancy — includes transportation to and from the Galena Lodge from Calgary, lodging, all meals, skis and poles (take your own boots), the services of certified mountain guides, transceivers and use of the helicopter. Round-trip air fare from Pittsburgh and the cost of a room at the airport hotel is extra.
To find out more about this trip or other opportunities for heli-skiing, go to canadianmountainholidays.com or call 1-800-661-0252.
Since that 1990 trip, CMH, recently named the best heli-ski outfitter by National Geographic Adventure Magazine, has developed women-only trips for strong intermediate skiers. No previous heli-skiing experience is necessary.
Although the name may cause some women to wince, CMH is hosting a “Chicks in the Chopper” trip for 44 women from March 31 to April 5 at the Galena Lodge in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia.
The offer includes “incredible skiing through remote wilderness followed by relaxing, indulging and celebrating back at the lodge” where the women “will be pampered by the full-service CMH treatment.” The latter includes “massages, hot-tub soaks, gourmet dinners and a ski shop party.”
As with all CMH trips, the women will be divided into groups of 11 according to their skiing ability. Everyone will ski the same terrain, but some groups will do it faster than others.
It is best to understate rather than overstate your abilities. And it is wise not to question the experience of the guides, especially their mountaineering skills.
Shortly after our arrival on a Saturday afternoon in April 1990, we attended a welcome party in the Bobbie Burns Lodge, where we met manager Rob Rohn, the guides and the staff. The 22 female guests, some of whom knew one another, had requested female guides, especially for the 11 women who were first-time heli-skiers. CMH was happy to oblige.
During a conversation with one of the female guides, a male guest, an accomplished athlete, enthusiastically described a trip the previous summer to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. He asked the guide, a slim, dark-haired Canadian woman, if she had done any climbing. She said she had.
“Anything of significance?” he asked.
“Everest,” replied Sharon Wood, the first North American woman to climb the 29,035-foot peak. Her matter-of-fact reply was so straightforward that no one who overheard the exchange doubted its veracity. She had reached the summit on May 20, 1986, two days after her 29th birthday. She got there by a new route and without Sherpa assistance.
“I was so embarrassed that I wanted to disappear through the stone wall in that room when she said Everest,” her questioner told me later that evening. “What an incredible accomplishment.”
In addition to working as a guide that week, Ms. Wood, a soft-spoken motivational speaker, conducted a slide-show program for the women. When the men asked her to repeat the program for them, she graciously agreed. “I think I’m in love,” one man said to another as they left her presentation.
After avalanche training on Sunday morning, the white Bell 212 jet helicopter flew each group of 11 skiers to a distant landing site. Each group got out and huddled about eight feet away from the skids while the guide unloaded their skis from a large wire basket on the other side. Within seconds, the helicopter was on its way to pick up another group.
Although the scenery was mesmerizing, the goal was to find our skis, knock the snow off the bottoms of our boots, step into our bindings and follow the guide down to the next pick-up point, sometimes on a valley floor. The conditions were typical for mid-April — powder at the top and soft snow at the bottom.
When we stopped in the mountains for a lunch of hearty sandwiches, soup, tea, fruit and chocolate, one of the women, an Aspen businesswoman, took off her hat to apply sunscreen. Although most skiers don’t wear jewelry, she was wearing diamond earrings. Two carats. When one of the men asked her why, she smiled and replied:
“They keep my ears warm.”
She laughed along with the rest of us.
The daily morning routine began with 30 minutes of stretching exercises followed by a hot and/or cold breakfast, the manager’s weather forecast and an announcement about which group of 11 would be the first to liftoff for the day. Each group took a turn at being first.
The Pittsburghers, all advanced intermediate skiers, had signed up for the Intro to Heli-Skiing group. Ms. Lawrence joined us for an afternoon and handled the varied conditions with ease.
The experienced women heli-skiers displayed their skills — and their bare upper torsos — on Wednesday morning while the Pittsburgh group was taking a break. They got our attention by shouting, whistling and laughing as they swooshed by several hundred feet away.
We responded in kind. Some of us saluted. There was no way we could catch up to them. They were covered up and grinning when we saw them at lunch.
We usually were back in the lodge by 5 p.m. We hung up our clothing and boots in the drying room and helped ourselves to hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, juices and water. Beer and wine were available for purchase at the bar. We recovered from all the skiing in the hot tub, sauna and/or at the trained hands of two certified massage therapists.
After a good night’s sleep, stretching exercises and breakfast, we picked up our skis and took them to the heli-pad near the lodge. The guide held out his transceiver as we walked by him to make sure our transceivers were emitting a signal. We huddled together as the helicopter approached and landed, the rotor wash swirling around us.
Minutes later we landed beside a wooden stake topped with a small maroon pennant. It was time for another run that began with crusty wind-blown snow at the landing site that soon gave way to boot-deep, knee-deep and then waist-deep powder.
If you were outside that morning, you probably could have heard our whoops of joy all the way back in Pittsburgh.
Lawrence Walsh, who has enjoyed almost 1.5 million vertical feet of helicopter skiing, covers recreational snowsports for the Post-Gazette. He can be reached at lwalsh@post-gazette.com and 412-263-1488.
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