Have choppers, will travel like never before in Canada’s West

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Exciting and engaging the most seasoned of travellers can be near impossible, especially among those for whom money is no obstacle. With bespoke travel experiences to surprising locations, however, luxury travel companies are curating opportunities for even the most jaded adventurer, and immersive experiences appear to be the way of the future. In this series, Canadian Family Offices explores exclusive, uniquely crafted travel experiences.

Piped into passengers’ noise-cancelling headsets, one lyric from Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb describes the scene inside the helicopter perfectly: “Your lips move, but I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

It takes only the most basic lip-reading skills to understand everyone on this heli-hiking day trip. “Wow!” is exclaimed by one and all when the chopper lifts off from the luxurious Nimmo Bay Resort on the southwestern edge of British Columbia’s remote Great Bear Rainforest. And again when it hovers over Corsan Peak and its impossibly blue kettle lake, and again when it touches down on a parking space-sized boulder near the base of a gushing waterfall, and again when it lands atop Silverthrone Glacier for a mind-blowing lunch break nearly two kilometres above the distant-but-still-visible Pacific Ocean.

Like many choppers in B.C. and Alberta, where around 90 per cent of the world’s heli-skiing takes place, West Coast Helicopters’ Bell 206 LongRanger is often used to carry powder hounds up peaks in winter. When the snow melts, however, a sizable portion of this heli fleet pivots to whisk hikers, cyclists, anglers, gourmets, yogis, campers and equestrians into the remote backcountry for high-altitude experiences that combine accessible adventure with all-to-yourself exclusivity. Here are a few examples.

Heli-assisted hiking

While heli-hiking day trips like Nimmo Bay’s tend to involve multiple takeoffs and landings, flying to a remote lodge for an extended stay usually means less airtime and more trail time. Such is the case at Purcell Mountain Lodge, a remarkably luxurious operation tucked into its namesake mountain range west of Golden, B.C. Private rooms pair hot water showers with speedy Wi-Fi, while a communal sauna eases tired hiking muscles and a gourmet chef prepares the kind of hardy meals guests need after days spent exploring 3,000 hectares of technicolour meadows and fragrant evergreen forests.

Hut-to-hut heli-hiking

As well as giving hikers literal lifts, helicopters can act as sherpas. Golden Alpine Holidays, for instance, offers three- and four-day guided hut-to-hut treks across the Selkirk Mountains north of Golden. Gear and food are heli-dropped at each of GAH’s four huts, with fully catered options available for guests who’d like to have appetizers ready and waiting post-trek.

Heli-biking

Trademarked as the “Mountain Biking Capital of Canada,” Squamish, B.C., is criss-crossed and surrounded by more than 300 kilometres of single-track trails. Bike fans have few better ways to veer off the city’s beaten bike paths than by lashing as many as five rides to Black Tusk Helicopter’s birds and climbing more than 1,600 vertical metres into the Coast Mountains for a full-day descent so scenic and thrilling it has been nicknamed “Disneyland.” The ride can also be part of a multi-day adventure involving an afternoon heli-drop, an overnight lodge stay and a full-day descent.

Heli-fishing

Secret fishing holes are easier to come by when accessed by chopper. Lifting off from its headquarters west of Calgary, LR Helicopters’ tours encompass the myriad Rocky Mountain lakes and pristine streams dotting the scenic landscape of southern Alberta. Multi-day trips can be customized to include helicopter drop-offs in the peak-ringed town of Canmore, where chefs at the upscale Malcolm Hotel are happy to grill guests’ ultra-fresh catch.

Heli-yoga

Sometimes all a yogi needs to reach nirvana is a little help from a helicopter. In the case of Kelowna-based Ikon Adventures, RYT 500-certified yoga instructor Sarah Daniels leads private classes on a mountaintop overlooking Okanagan Lake before participants partake of a gourmet spread of local wines and cheeses that is similarly nirvana-inducing.

Heli-picnicking

Speaking of al fresco dining, Kelowna’s Valhalla Helicopters takes it to literal new heights through a partnership with Gypsy Chix Picnics. The former provides a ride to an Okanagan mountaintop in one of eight Bell choppers, while the latter pairs plush pillows, floral bouquets and delicate stemware with culinary options ranging from a “Charcuterie Graze” to a “Signature High Tea.” Valhalla also offers full- and half-day heli-wine tours that visit as many as four of the Okanagan’s 180-plus wineries.

Heli-camping and glamping

No hiking trail to the most beautiful campsite imaginable? No problem: Glacier Helicopters carries backcountry campers to many of the pristine high-alpine lakeshores and wildflower-strewn meadows surrounding the city of Revelstoke, B.C. No interest in the rigours of backcountry camping? No problem: After lifting off from the shores of Alberta’s Abraham Lake, guests of Rockies Heli Canada’s glamping tours are whisked to the remote Fortress Lake Wilderness Retreat for three or four all-inclusive days of gourmet dining, hiking, guided fishing, kayaking, paddleboarding and bedding down in a roomy and robust tent with a wood stove and chemical toilet, all of which is overseen by a personal butler.

Heli-horseback

Riding high in the saddle is given new meaning on Breakaway Experiences’ Rocky Mountain Helicopter Flight and Horseback Tour. After soaring over Alberta’s Cline Pass and the Cline, Lion and Lioness glaciers, guests picnic next to picturesque Twin Falls before reboarding the chopper and flying to the Mackenzie Trails West outfitter for an hour-long trail ride. From there, it’s a breathtakingly scenic two-hour drive to Canmore, where sightseeing tours with Alpine Helicopters provide unparalleled views of the iconic Three Sisters series of peaks overlooking the town.

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