July 23, 2008

US & CANADA | CANADA

Heli Heaven

By Judy D'Mello

Everything you always wanted to know about Canadian heli-adventuring but were afraid to ask.

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Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH) claims to have pioneered heli-skiing four decades ago in British Columbia. Since then, a veritable panoply of mountain adventures have sprung in Canada’s westernmost province — including summertime heli-hiking (as reported by globorati), heli-golf, heli-fly fishing, and family heli-skiing (which, we understand, isn’t quite so gonzo as it sounds).

Recently added to CMH’s heli-repertoire: heli-mountaineering, available July 30-August 2 and August 26-29. The High-Flying Heli-Adventure package lets guests traverse between the impossibly stunning and impossible-to- reach peaks of the Columbia Mountains, while staying at the company’s six remote lodges (Adamant Lodge, pictured), some with wine tasting rooms and all with spas. Each day, the inspired, intrepid and deep-pocketed are dropped off by a Bell chopper along with certified mountaineering guides who’ll help them to summit craggy peaks and rappel off sheer rock faces.

Sounds hairy? OK, how about a spot of heli-golf? From now through October 1, luxury boutique hotel Adara Whistler in B.C. offers golf enthusiasts the opportunity to drive special eco golf balls off the glacier-laden peak of Mount Currie, then tee-off for 18 holes at Big Sky Golf and Country Club — all via private helicopter.

There’s more: heli-rafting and heli-fly fishing at Nimmo Bay Resort, home to a floating lodge and nine luxury cabins — as well as three helicopters dedicated to guest adventures. Known the world over as an angler’s paradise, this is also bear country, set amid the earth’s largest temperate rainforest near the northeast tip of Vancouver Island.

And for the ultimate summertime splurge? Try a heli-picnic — courtesy of Heli Canada Adventures, who’ll whisk you from Revelstoke along the Columbia River and up to Mount English or Mount Begbie, where your dining vistas are glistening glaciers. But no whiff of danger here, only the aroma of freshly baked bread, fresh salmon and house-cured meats.