"Head doooooowwwwn," Kevin yelled as the chopper hovered a few feet above us, creating a powerful blast of air that knocked us into each other as it touched down two feet away. It whipped baseball caps off, even tore one guy's glasses off.
What was I thinking? The heli part was bad enough, hopping from rocky outcroppings to Alpine meadows in a tiny chopper. But hiking in high mountains? Middle-aged, overweight, out of shape and seriously risk averse, not to mention lazy, I'm the one who waits for the elevator when everyone else sprints upstairs.
Importuned by a few friends to go off on a carefree holiday in the Canadian Rockies - "We'll have so much fun together, just hanging out" - I got on a plane ... and a plane ... and a bus ... and a bus ... and ended up huddled in front of a wildly gyrating helicopter en route to Bugaboo Lodge, where, I was promised, the fun would begin.
But before we can admire the dramatic setting, it's gear-up time.
If you think sturdy sneakers, shorts and a Windbreaker are enough for summer hiking, you haven't gone with the Canadian Mountain Holiday pros. They equipped us with leather hiking boots, wind pants, rain poncho, hooded cold-weather jacket, water bottle and a backpack to store it all. Did I mention it is compulsory to carry all this on every hike because of quickly changing weather?
By the time I got to my room, my suitcase had been trucked up from the road. The rooms were rustic, and mine was more minimal than some. Without a luggage rack or chest, we stashed our clothes on open wooden shelves and hung them on an exposed pole. But who cares? I was out hiking, and the water in the pre-fab bath was hot enough for aching muscles.
After lunch we divided into self-selected groups according to hiking ability. It wasn't hard to see where I belonged: "Your group may include those who are apprehensive about hiking in the mountains (check), are not very sure-footed in rough terrain (check), and are more interested in learning about the environment, fauna and flora than reaching a peak or pass (double check). It was comforting to know that CMH is understanding about my hiking credentials.
Allan, fit and buff, flew out first with the mountaineering gang. With a single helicopter, logistics are complicated and sometimes slow. The fourth run took eight of us in the lowest and last group to Rocky Point, an 8,000-foot-high meadow sloping down to a valley ringed with snowy peaks. As Melissa, Ben and Geoffrey took off down the gentle slope, I thought that it looked easy. Of course, what goes down must come back up.
So Richard and I heli-strolled around the meadow, lounged by miniature Alpine vegetation and leisurely took in all the mountain majesty. After an hour or so, the pilot motioned us into the helicopter to pick the group up in the valley. Hey, if we'd known we didn't have to hike back up the hill, we would have walked down, too.
If the rooms are minimal, the dining is surprisingly sophisticated. Who would expect this remote mountain lodge to have both a chef and a pastry chef; to present eggs Benedict in tiny pastry cups; to serve shrimp and salad on flat stone plates?
Dinner is sit-down, served from the head of table by two of the pleasant young staffers. Our menu: tuna tempura, wasabi and miso aioli; mint pecan-crusted rack of lamb and garlic potato puree; and chocolate pate with sun-dried cherries, blueberries and lychee sorbet in a basil tuille. Not exactly mountaineering grub.
Activities run like clockwork: 7:15, bell rings for yoga class; 8, it rings for breakfast; 9, the first group assembles at the helipad, lunch bag in hand. One day three of us flew back after the morning hike to read on the deck and soak in the hot tub. The next day we took off for a mountain picnic, soaring over slow-moving glaciers, sheer Alpine ridges, turquoise mountain lakes and rivers finding their way through forested valley creases, our helicopter a moving shadow over deeply rutted granite rocks. We touched down on a rocky ledge at 7,300 feet, at the toe of Vowell Glacier. Improbably, in front of this otherworldly backdrop was a picnic table set with bison burgers, bratwurst on oversize rolls, coleslaw, cookies and fruit.
No, I didn't hike, but I heli'd up to the highest peaks and plateaus where wildflowers poke up among the shale rocks and granite peaks tower over glaciers, a non-adventurer just as besotted with the serene wilderness as any mountaineer. Waiting for hikers to return, I wondered what on earth they were seeing that I couldn't see, too. Was it necessary to lug the backpack, sweat the heights, monitor ankle-turning descents? There I was in the same exquisitely lonely wilderness, and, let me tell you, it's too magical to be left just to hikers.
IF YOU GO
Bugaboo Lodge has 18 three-night stays from July 6 to Sept. 7, 2006, at $1,882, per person, double occupancy, which includes all meals, helicopter flights to and from the lodge and into the mountains each day, guides, hiking outwear and gear, and ground transportation from Banff and return to Banff or Calgary airport. There are also three-night family adventures at $1,882 and six-night lodge-to-lodge packages at $3,623. All guests arrive and leave the same day by helicopter.
Getting to and from Bugaboo Lodge takes the better part of two days, which includes an overnight in Banff (arriving) and Calgary (departing).
The most convenient airport is Calgary for the two-hour drive to Banff, where you overnight. The next morning you meet all lodge guests at the Canadian Mountain Holidays office for the two-hour, scenic bus ride to the CMH roadside helipad for the trip to the lodge.
For more information contact Canadian Mountain Holidays, (800) 661-0252, canadianmountainholidays.com.
Joan Scobey is a freelance travel writer.
© Copley News Service
