Looking for an exhilarating and challenging quickie summer escape? Consider Canadian Mountain Holidays acknowledged world’s leading heli-hiking operator for 35+ years. When the powder poufs and the ski season closes, CMH offers “Summer Adventures,” an invigorating menu of stellar guests leading inspirational 3-day trips. July and August 2013.
Set amid North America’s most spectacular mountains in the southeastern quadrant of British Columbia, this is the perfect program for adventurous solo travelers.
Chop Chop. Thrilling helicopter transport to and from the lodges, in and out of the most gorgeous peaks and valleys.
Days are spent heli-hiking, mountaineering, rappelling, climbing, and/or swimming in glacial lakes in small groups. Or for the less intrepid: leisurely guided walks through mountain meadows carpeted in wildflowers and Jacuzzi tub soaks. Each evening, back into the comforts of the lodge, listen to one of the guest speakers’ dramatic presentations and dive into the excellent meals served family style at communal tables. Similar interests and shared experience prompt an easy camaraderie and good cheer.
Who’s onboard?
A renowned anthropologist, ornithologist, botanist, chef and photographer.
- Dr. Cam Gillies – Ornithologist, photographer and a keen birder who has traveled and birded his way through much of North and South America. July 12-15, 2013
- Wade Davis – National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence – who will enthrall guests with his acclaimed Massey Lecture, “The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World.” July 21-24, 2013
- Brian Keating – Adventurer, explorer and global environmentalist. Host of his own show on the Discovery Channel joins his wife Dee to lead an entertaining (and sometimes hilarious) Family Adventure for kids of all ages. Superb storytellers, their tall and true tales are CMH highlights. July 21-24, 2013
- Peter Potterfield – Outdoor Adventure Journalist and Photographer leads guests on lodge-to-lodge adventures, sharing stories and photos from his world travels in the evenings. August 11-17, 2013
- John Ash – Chef/owner of his beloved Santa Rosa, CA restaurant, an original culinary star in Northern California wine country with his focus on local, seasonal ingredients and local wines. August 26-29, 2013
There’s still time to sign on. For more details please click directly: http://www.canadianmountainholidays.com/heli-hiking/trips/speakers.
Painters and photographers, here’s the perfect summer trip for solo travelers: a chance to study with the masters in British Columbia’s immense and thrilling Bugaboos mountain range — some of the most extraordinary natural scenery in the Americas.
Voted “Best Heli-Adventure Company on Earth” by National Geographic ADVENTURE Magazine, CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures is the oldest (est. 1965) and largest heli-skiing and heli-hiking operator in the world, operating from 11 lodges. Rates are per person, based on double occupancy.
Intrepid solo travelers who can go for a little coddling too, how does the Great Bear Rainforest on the coast of British Columbia sound for an extraordinary expedition this summer? Cool, huh? What began as a wildlife passion for Tom Rivest and Marg Leehane evolved into Great Bear Nature Tours 13 years ago. Cited by National Geographic Adventure as one of the Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth, their floating eco-lodge is beautifully set in a fjord and runs on wind, solar and water power.
Guided trips are available in spring, summer and fall, and each season offers unique insight into grizzly bear behavior. In the spring, bears emerge from their dens to graze on wetland plants and grasses. In summer, they search for food in berry patches, grasslands or in the rivers for early salmon and other tidbits…. With the beginning of fall and arrival of thousands of salmon, the wild drama is played out in front of your eyes, ears and nose from viewing stands along the river. Photographers’ paradise.
A quickie one-hour seaplane flight from Port Hardy on the northeastern coast of Vancouver Island over Queen Charlotte Strait is phenomenal fun for the chance to see breaching whales, foraging bear, and sailing birds from the air. Great Bear programs include two professionally-guided viewing excursions per day, a warm shower, great meals, and a good snooze in one of the five cozy bedrooms. You will not get lost in the crowd: 10 guests max. per tour.
From Adelaide to Alice Springs to Darwin, the Ghan crosses the spectacular transcontinental heart of Australia, north to south, in a 48-hour one-way ride with two nights on board. 
India anyone? The royally luxurious Deccan Odyssey departs from Mumbai and visits towns and villages all along the gorgeous coastline of the Arabian Sea for 8 days, including hottest beach spot on the subcontinent, the intensely sensual sandy city of Goa. 
Not on everyone’s GPS, one flies from Edmonton or Calgary on a chartered plane into non-bustling Yellowknife, Canada on the northern shore of the Great Slave Lake, the deepest lake in North America and one of the largest in the world. This lake, framed by Islands of the Taiga, is 318 miles south of the Arctic Circle and framed by a maze of forests, sheltered bays, shale beaches and red granite cliffs sculpted by glaciers.
If you want to try kayaking in British Columbia but will do anything to avoid camping out, the quaint 7-room lodge called God’s Pocket Resort appeals. Envision: private rooms-with-bath on a remote uninhabited island in the heart of God’s Pocket Provincial Park just off the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Take off by boat from Port Hardy and glide gently past rugged mountains and forested islands on the pristine waters of Queen Charlotte Strait.
Renowned heli-skiing operator, Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH), follows up on recent success with two heli skiing trips for women with a cool concept, “Chicks in the Chopper” – sensational spring skiing for women only.