The Adventure

Adventure Travel by Helicopter - What's it Really Like?

Sitting in a car or bus has a familiar sleepy vibration.  It’s a rare person in our modern world who doesn’t know riding in a plane is all about that hypnotic jet hum in an atmosphere thick with a hundred passenger’s quiet discomfort.  Millions of people know the smooth speed of an electric train and the hypnotic rhythm of a rocking boat.  But far fewer people know what it’s like to travel by helicopter, especially the big twin-engine Bell 212 - known as the safest helicopter in the world - used on CMH Summer Adventures. 

Adventure travel by helicopter in the mountains is like nothing else.  The combination of relatively slow speeds compared to a plane, and proximity to the earth for a truly bird’s eye view of alpine grandeur, offers the passenger an unparalleled intimacy with flight.

Leaving the ground is the first eye-opener.  The helicopter takes off slowly, rising vertically for several metres, and there is a second or two when if feels like the machine could go any direction - and it can.  Then it leans forward slightly and begins to accelerate, quickly reaching cruising speed.  This is about the point when the cameras start clicking.

As a passenger in a helicopter, your sensitivity to changes in speed is very acute.  In a jet, it is impossible to get a feel for speed because of the high cruising altitude.  When “cruising” in a Bell 212  during a CMH Summer Adventure, you’re right at mountaintop level, or lower, doing around 200 kilometres per hour – about the average speed of a Formula One race.

If you’ve ridden in smaller helicopters, which often feel like they are rotating back and forth, the Bell 212 is unbelievably stable – sort of the Limousine of helicopters.  While it has two engines, and can fly on one engine if the other should fail, the mighty Columbia Mountains force the Bell 212 to fly slow to around 100 kilometres per hour while climbing - think highway speed, but looking out the window at a glacier.

Unless they're in a rescue scenario, pilots don’t just fly straight up a vertical mountain face.   A good mountain pilot, like those we work with from Alpine Helicopters, will read the terrain for the easiest line just like a mountain guide, crossing passes at their lowest points, avoiding unnecessary altitude gain and loss, watching the wind and weather, and always keeping an escape route open if conditions change.

On the way down, the helicopter can lose altitude fast enough to put your stomach in your throat – up to 1000 metres per minute – but the pilots save those kinds of speeds for when they’re alone in the helicopter.  With passengers, they slow the descent to give everyone a smooth, comfortable, photogenic ride.

If you’ve never been in a helicopter, riding in a Bell 212, on route to one of the myriad experiences of a CMH Summer Adventure, is the ultimate way to give it a try.  Not only do you get a scenic flight in the world’s safest helicopter through some of the world’s most beautiful mountains, but at the end of the flight you are left in a breathtaking location with a guide to spend the day in a mountain paradise surrounded by raw, quiet, untouched wilderness.

Photos by Topher Donahue.

Air speed information for the Bell 212 provided by Alex Holliday, Safety Manager for Alpine Helicopters.

A Camera's View of the New Bugaboos Via Ferrata Experience

This spring the CMH guides built a new Via Ferrata in the Bugaboos on a little-known rock buttress of smooth quartzite know as Trundle Ridge. Last month I photographed one of the first teams to ascend the new route. CMH Bugaboos assistant manager Peter Macpherson was our guide for the day. We talked about how diverse the CMH Summer Adventure program has become, and how hard it is to describe the experience. Grandparents can go on leisurely hikes near the helicopter, while their kids climb a via ferrata or hike all day, and their grandkids slide on alpine snowfields and splash in tiny streams - and then afterwards everyone sits down together for a gourmet dinner. How do you compare that to the average adventure travel experience?

From the view out the window of the helicopter of the CMH Bugaboo Lodge, just minutes after finishing a coffee, to standing on the summit of the via ferrata with the otherworldly Bugaboo Spires in the background, here are a few shots that tell the tale better than words:

The next day two of the via ferrata climbers went on an eight-hour hike along a serpentine ridge overlooking the Bugaboos.  One of them sat on the tundra with a view of the Bugaboo Spires and a palette of watercolours, painting the toothy peaks and nibbling lox  croissants. The other two went hiking with their kids in a wonderland of glaciers, wildly-coloured lakes, and beaches of crystalline sand.

Want to see more of what the CMH Summer Adventure is all about?  Subscribe to this blog - or better yet find out for yourself!

Photos by Topher Donahue

Vacation + Education = WOW!

I'm freshly back from a 3 day summer adventure at the Bobbie Burns Lodge (yes, an actual trip, with my wife!).  The trip, with all of the helicopter flights, ridge walks, via ferrata adventures and gourmet dining, was amazing.  But what put it over the top, for me, was the time spent with motivational speaker Dr. Joe MacInnis. "Dr. Joe" was at the lodge for 3 days as part of CMH's new Educational Travel program. What a treat for guests and staff alike.

In case you aren't familiar with him, I encourage you to learn more about Dr. MacInnis and his various missions. Some highlights of his career include a Medical Degree, 6 Honorary Doctorates, 10+ books and over 5000 hours spent under the sea (including leading the first dives under the North Pole and some of the first visits to the Titanic!). Most recently, Dr. Joe has been fascinated by leadership, spending his time in the Gulf working with a group of concerned experts and advisors on the "perfect oilstorm".

Despite all of his accolades and accomplishments, what struck me most about Dr. MacInnis was his passion: Passion for the environment – at the Bobbie Burns, in the Gulf, and around the world. Passion for learning – about the sea, the mountains, and people. Passion for life – his outlook on life, a desire to learn and to share and grow.

And best of all, he wanted to share his passion with everyone!

Guests from 5 to 85 were equally entranced by his evening presentation "FIRESTORM: Leadership lessons from the Gulf of Mexico". And throughout the trip, he happily shared his time, observations, experiences and knowledge with any who asked. Everyone on the trip left feeling optimistic and excited about the future, including Dr. Joe.

Upon my (reluctant) return to the office, an email from Dr. Joe was waiting for me. I think his passionate email says it all – for everyone lucky enough to have shared the experience:

"Thank you for three days in that special place where the mountains are in love with the sky. Thank you for the brilliant sunshine, sparkling glaciers, luminous waterfalls, and snow-packed peaks reaching beyond the horizon. Thank you for mountain guides so willing to share their sense of wonder, empathy and insight. And thank you for the Sky Angel who found us at the end of the day and flew us back to the deep end of the hot tub and a five-star dinner."

— Dr. Joe MacInnis

 

Jason Semenek works on CMH's websites and online marketing out of the Banff office. He and his wife, Melissa, joined Dr. Joe MacInnis at CMH's Bobbie Burns Lodge July 24 - 27, 2010. Their next adventure will be to the Bugaboos for a Photography Workshop with wilderness photographer John E. Marriott. Lucky them!

What Pack do I Need for Heli-Hiking?

The easy answer is: NO PACK AT ALL. 

For anyone who doesn’t bring a pack, CMH lodges provide daypacks that are small enough to hike or climb unencumbered, but big enough to hold your lunch, water, sunhat, and jacket.  With a helicopter to provide easy escape from the mountain elements, we have a lot of options and you don’t need to carry too much. 

If you want your own pack for heli-hiking and other summer adventures, that’s great.  Using your own pack is nice.  But don’t fret it.  That’s why we call it HELI-hiking.  It’s not about the pack.

Even a trusty book bag works, but a pack with a little more space makes packing - and then later finding your sunscreen in the bottom of your pack – that much easier.  If you prefer your own, here are a few things to look for in a good heli-hiking pack:

• Around 25 litre capacity - buy your friend the bigger pack.  

• Roomy exterior pocket for easy access to cameras and trail favors - tight pockets look cool in the store, but are a pain to use.

• Lightweight material and design with no frame or super-light internal frame - heavy helicopter should equal light pack.

• Hydration system is handy but not necessary – why not just stop and look around while drinking?

• Ventilation along the back area – it gets warm heli-hiking under the bright alpine sun.

• External strap system of some kind in case you need a little extra space - adventure travel doesn't happen by the litre.

• Bought in an actual, real, live, retail store like REI where you can try on several options for the best fit - as in not bought online with your iPhone while driving in traffic just before your trip. 
  

Touching mountains as wild, vast and un-developed as the Columbias of British Columbia with only a small daypack on your shoulders is a treat that only heli-hikers get to experience.  The light-footed sensation of moving easily through such terrain, surrounded by untouched wilderness the likes of which few modern humans ever see, is alone worth the price of admission. 

Heli-hiking-as-good-as-it-gets photo by Topher Donahue

7 Tips for Hiking Off-Trail

One of the surprising elements of CMH Summer Adventures is that most of our time is spent with no trail in sight.  Sometimes the bears, moose, and other animals go the same way we want to go, and then we can follow age-old animal trails for short distances.  The rest of the time we walk gently on carpet-like tundra dotted with tenacious wildflowers, across scree slopes made of billions of tiny rocks, over chaotic boulder fields of burly talus, through lush old-growth forests, on low-angle slabs of ancient stone, and everything in between. 

With groups of adventurous hikers, we’ll encounter all of these terrain features in a single day.  With hikers wanting only the easiest hiking, we use the helicopter to access the ideal, mellow terrain.  

For everyone, hiking off-trail requires paying attention and walking with a focus beyond that which we are accustomed to while hiking on well-used trails in National Parks and popular recreation areas.  For some suggestions on better walking off-trail, I asked Erich Unterberger, an IFMGA guide and lifetime adventurer who, beginning as a kid in Austria, has spent most of his life in the wilderness, away from any trails or roads, while wearing hiking boots, rock climbing shoes or skis.  Erich took time away from building his family a house in Revelstoke, British Columbia to give us some pointers, and here’s what he had to say:

As for walking off-trail, I don't know when I last walked on a trail. I think I always walked, or looked to walk, off the beaten path.

• What I look for when I’m off-trail is safety first.  I always check for any hazard above like loose boulders, cornices, etc.
  
• You want to make sure to avoid sensitive areas like marshy places or heather slopes. 
• Pick your line from a distance - almost any peace of terrain has a path of least resistance through it.
• When you are crossing a steep side-hill, point your downhill foot outward to minimize stress on your ankles.
  
• When crossing talus or scree slopes, you need to look a few steps ahead.  This gives you better balance. 
• Take small steps.  This makes covering ground easier and more efficient.
• I often use a walking stick which comes really handy for rugged sections and makes walking downhill much easier.
  

Exploring off the beaten path is one of the most rewarding aspects of mountain adventures. The CMH guides will outfit you with the needed equipment, like boots and walking poles if needed.  Most importantly, they cutomize each adventure to ensure that you get just the right kind of experience to be safe, exciting and eye-opening for you without it being too difficult for your ability and fitness level.

Heli-hiking photo by Topher Donahue

Accidental Litter Bugs go Hiking

It was sunrise at treeline on Longs Peak, one of Colorado’s fifty-four 14,000-foot peaks.  We had been walking for a couple hours already, so we stopped for a snack.  I put the Clif Bar wrapper in my pocket.  Knowing the intense high altitude sun was coming soon, I put my sunglasses in the pocket with the wrapper.  A few minutes later the sun rose above the crimson cloudbank on the horizon, and I pulled out my sunglasses.  The glasses lifted the wrapper out of my pocket, and the mountain wind caught it as it fell.  I tried to grab it, but it wriggled away like a fish out of water and took off across the tundra.  I took a few steps after it, but the foil lifted like a kite and disappeared. 

Later, I saw a plastic bag sitting next to the trail.  “Litterbugs,” I said out loud as I reached down to pick it up, then remembered my trash, likely tangled in the krummholz somewhere below.  The person who left the plastic bag probably sat on it to keep it from blowing away while they finished their sandwich, but then forgot about it, stood up, and the bag escaped.

As I walked along that day, I thought about how most of us these days don’t just throw trash in the woods or out the window of our cars as was common a couple of generations ago, yet many of us are still accidental litter bugs. 

From personal experience – experience I’m not so proud of – here’s the ways I’ve accidentally left trash in the wrong places, and what I do now to avoid it. 

Micro trash: When a tiny corner of a candy bar  or energy gel wrapper, or “twisty-tie” bag closure thingamajig escapes your best intentions. Try not to tear the wrapper entirely into pieces.  If you leave the torn corner attached to the rest of the wrapper it’s harder to loose it.

The escaped prisoner:  My problem on Longs Peak.  Carry lunch in a small bag so you always have a place to put the trash instead of your pocket.  When you leave trash in your car, keep the trash in a sturdy bag so the inevitable mountain wind doesn’t grab your Happy Meal debris while your doors are open in the parking lot.

The biodegradable detritus:  Sure, the remnants of your chips will eventually be eaten or rot into the soil, but in National Parks, where wildlife have a diet heavy in human foods, animal biopsies have revealed squirrels and chipmunks are dying of heart disease from clogged arteries just like their two-legged benefactors. Eat it or take it with you.

The bigger picture: It’s amazing how ugly trash is in the wilderness, but then we go home and buy cubic tonnes of packaging that we then send out of sight and out of mind into a landfill.  Even then, it’s still there.  Manufacturing over-packages everything, but with the Internet business model, the packaging is not only a waste of resources but also a waste of money, and people are tired of buying a postage stamp sized memory card for their camera and struggling to open four layers of trash to get to it. 

In the most pristine places, like the wildly remote mountains of Western Canada where CMH Summer Adventures happen, the sign of humanity is almost non-existant.  Let's keep it that way. 

Heli-Hiking in the Bugaboos with Grizzlies?

CMH Summer Adventures recently announced a partnership with Nature Conservancy Canada.  On this 3-day Heli-Hiking vacation at CMH's Bugaboo Lodge July 18-21, 2010 we will have grizzly bear expert, Michael Proctor, PhD on hand to share his recent research on the grizzly bear population in British Columbia.

Well, it would appear that the bears got wind of this trip and are checking out the lodge in the early season.  This photo, snapped by Bugaboo Lodge maintenance man Jim Kebe, was taken earlier this week.  This mama bear and her cubs were cruising around the lodge on Mother's day, May 9th keeping Jim company (and lodge-bound!)

Come hike with Michael Proctor and learn more about these wonderful creatures and the habitat they call home.  CMH will donate 10% of the trip price for this special departure to NCC for protection of Canada's biodiversity.  To learn more about this special opportunity, call a CMH Heli-Hiking Expert at 1.800.661.0252.

 

3 Blister Prevention Tips for Mountain Adventures

There are few things that ruin a nice mountain adventure like a blistered foot.  The old wisdom for blister prevention focused more on what to do after you get a blister, than what to do to prevent one in the first place.  A blister kits contain all kinds of gel, adhesive patches, scissors, and tape, but once you need a kit, your mountain dream trip is already on the way to being miserable.  Breaking in shoes or boots before a trip is a good idea in theory, but often hard to execute in practice while living far from the mountains and walking on flat ground doesn’t really do the same thing to your feet or boots as hiking on uneven angles. 
    So I asked Lyle Grisedale, a summer guide for CMH and lifetime mountaineer who has spent more time in boots than most people spend in pajamas, if he had any better ideas about preventing blisters.  I expected the same old don’t-complain-but-blame-yourself-for-not-breaking-in-your-boots spiel, but he came back with an entirely different and preventative three-part solution:

1st - What you are wearing:
Never wear cotton socks, wool is the very best and you can buy  specially designed hiking socks from companies such as Thorlo, Icebreaker and Wigwam that are excellent.  When buying boots it is very important to get a boot that has an excellent heel counter, the more supported the heel is the less likely that you will get blisters.

2nd - How you walk:
We all spend most of our life walking on engineered surfaces: sidewalks, pavement, etc. All stair risers are the same height: 7 inches. This makes walking very easy and because of this I think people get out of touch with their feet.  Then, when they get to the mountains on rough trails, or come with us heli-hiking where we mostly walk off-trail or on game trails, they take big, inconsistent steps and blisters become a problem.  So, most importantly people need to change their stride. In rougher terrain a long stride causes us to press onto our toes as we move to the next step, and as soon as you lean onto the toe the heel comes into contact with the back of the boot and causes friction - especially walking up hill.

Also, we can prevent blisters by changing our heel-to-toe, rocking walking style, and instead place the foot down parallel to the slope and picking it up parallel to the slope for the next step without getting up on to the toes.  This way the foot comes straight up rather than rocking onto the toe and moving in the shoe causing friction. 

Then when going down hill:

• Take small steps, as the foot is placed ahead the toes are pointed down so that the foot lands parallel to the slope.
• Keep your knees slightly flexed.
• Lean slightly forward at the waist to eliminate the heel slipping on loose rocks. 

This style not only prevents blisters, but it is also easier on the knees from a stress point of view, and we are more stable.  When I teach mountain walking to our guests they are amazed at how much easier it is and how much terrain we can cover with this technique. You don't need long strides to cover big distances; small steps will take you just as far with out stressing the feet.

3rd - Toughen your skin:
If you have been doing all your walking in the city and are going to the mountains it is a good idea to put some Moleskin, or at least a bit of athletic tape, on your heels for the first couple days just to help protect the heels until they are conditioned a bit to walking in rougher terrain.

 A thorough examination of blister prevention on About.com and other websites discusses a number of factors, but doesn't metion the way we walk - perhaps the simplest solution of all.  For CMH summer adventures, the vast majority of adventurers find the boots provided by CMH work better than their own footwear; and the guide's attention to blister prevention avoids the problem entirely.

 Heli-hiking on glacier photo by Topher Donahue.

Which Footwear is Best for a Summer Adventure?

It was 1985.  I was clomping down a Colorado trail in my hiking boots.  We called them “waffle stompers” for the pattern left by the heavy tread.  I was proud of my waffle stompers, and the suffering I endured while wearing them was part and parcel of mountain adventure.   We stopped at the side of the trail to rest our weary feet, and I vividly remember watching two climbers coming down the trail with their packs heavily laden with ropes and various implements of vertical fun.  My eyes were immediately drawn to their feet.  No waffle stompers!  Instead they were wearing lightweight running shoes and it seemed they were floating down the trail instead of walking.  The rest of the way down the trail, my feet felt as if they were clamped in a hot waffle iron, and I would have given anything for a pair of running shoes.   After that I became a committed light shoe hiker.

Fast-forward 20 years.  Adventure travel is mainstream.  I'm heli-hiking in the Bugaboos.  I’m wearing running shoes.  Everyone else in the group is wearing new-school hiking boots that are lighter and more comfortable than my old waffle stompers.   The marshy area we crossed earlier has my tennies squelching with ice cold water and my toes feeling weirdly numb and tender at the same time. 

Then, while walking across a short scree field, the sound of a huge ice avalanche calving from a vertical glacier face in the distance catches our attention and we all stop to stand awestruck by the display of wilderness power.  Then I take another step onto a sandy slope without paying attention, slip, and in trying to recover my shoes scoop up handfulls of gritty sand.  So now I have wet, sandy socks and I looked with envy at my fellow hikers in their lightweight high-top boots.

Today, outdoor footwear companies make a shoe for every occasion, and I realize there is a place for all of them.  Here’s a list of iconic mountain adventures and the footwear I choose for each one:

• Short day hikes in warm weather, like visiting Yosemite’s Vernal Falls:  Ventilated running shoes with cotton socks.

• Long day hikes in warm weather like Canyonland’s Joint Trail: Sturdy, ventilated trail running shoes with thin synthetic socks.

• Rugged trail hikes in alpine areas like Peru’s Santa Cruz Trek: Gore-tex approach shoes with wool or synthetic socks.

• Off-trail hiking like CMH Summer Adventures: Light, high-top hiking boots with wool or synthetic socks.

• Early season, off-trail adventures like Rocky Mountain National Park’s Boulder Grand Pass, including snow fields and/or scree:  All-leather high-top boot with wool or synthetic socks.

And, no matter what shoes I choose, I leave a pair of flip flops at the car, hut or lodge because my feet are always craving fresh air at the end of the day. 

Do you have any footwear epics or opinions you'd like to share?

Photo by Topher Donahue

CMH Summer Adventures Guide: Kellie Erwin

Each summer when I venture out to the Bobbie Burns and Bugaboo Lodges I'm struck by the passion and commitment of all the guides and other team members making guests experiences exceptional.  We're sending one of those such guides, Kellie Erwin back to her home state of Colorado for an event with our good friends at Outdoor Divas in their store in Cherry Creek on April 21.  Kellie will be speaking about her life as a mountain guide, filmmaker and Everest Summiteer.

Marketing Diva Marily MacDonald chatted with Kellie last week and after reading the post on the Outdoor Diva's blog I learned a few things about Kellie myself.  With Marily's permission, I am re-posting that interview here.  To view the original please see the Outdoor Diva's Blog. 

Kellie Erwin; a women who tops it all!
Everest Conquer will speak at outdoor DIVAS on April 21st

OD: How did you first decide that you wanted to climb Mount Everest?

KELLIE: I saw a slide show when I was 14 years old about a Himalayan climber and it inspired me to dream big and I thought to myself, I want to climb in the Himalaya's one day.

In 1979 I started working for Colorado Outward Bound where I met Peter Athens, and in 1987 he asked me to join the first American women's Everest expedition.

OD: What was the hardest part of your preparation for the journey to Everest’s summit?

KELLIE: Well, I had 20 years of preparation you could say in preparation for the summit. It took four attempts, over a 20 year period to actually summit the top. The hardest part is the unknown and the altitude; those are two things that no matter how prepared you are, you are always going to have to deal with. In 1987 I made my first attempt and in 1999 I was successful in reaching the So. Summit.

OD: What was the best thing about growing up in Aspen and how has that helped prepare you for the adventures you’ve lived?

KELLIE: No doubt about it, it was being “IN” the mountains! I am so thankful that I was immersed in the mountain way of life as a child. I feel your surroundings really affect how you see the world and the mountains are so unknown and ever changing that I think it really gives you great insight into the world around you. Passion for mountains is in my heart and I feel it helped me reach my goals.

OD: What has been your most challenging accomplishment on and off the mountains?

KELLIE: I am a Cancer survivor (early 90’s diagnosed) and that process was a huge reality check. It really put life into perspective and made me reevaluate my life--- I would say the mountains are in my heart but they are not what define me.

OD: What is the one piece of advice you wish you’d had that you would give to women looking to get into these kinds of endeavors?

KELLIE: Get educated! You can go anywhere with a great foundation---get FULL guide certifications if you are serious about guiding or whatever you are getting into. Give it your all.

OD: Are you more outdoor or DIVA--or a bit of both?

KELLIE: I am a bit of both, I like being a woman and embrace my femininity, yet I am an outdoor lover of course. I love that I can be both.

OD: Do any hilarious stories come to mind when asked what has been the funniest thing to happen to you while on a hike/adventure?

KELLIE: Bathroom issues are always a bit funny, especially when you are in a tent, high on a mountain, with strong winds and you can’t get out to do your business. One time my aim was rather off as I was attempting to fill a wide mouthed water bottle, and well, some ended up in my sleeping bag. Whelp - you just have to deal with those sort of moments, I mean it was just pee. You can’t stress about the silly stuff—ultimately that’s what makes great memories.

Will you be in the Denver area April 21?  If so, be sure to RSVP with Outdoor Divas for this inspiring event! See you there!