Access Granted
Heli-Hiking Adventures in the pristine mountains of British Columbia
Access Granted
Heli-Hiking Adventures in the pristine mountains of British Columbia
When Craig McGee first arrived at CMH Summer Adventures, it was supposed to be just for a short contract. He had no intention of staying longer, believing it would be another brief chapter in his extensive career as a guide.
“I thought I’d do the six weeks and then move on,” Craig admits.
Nearly 25 years later, he’s still here, now working as Director of Mountain Operations. It is a testament to the magnetic pull of these mountains and the singular experiences being offered by CMH, a Canadian heli-hiking and heli-skiing company.
Photo of Bobby Burns Lodge: CMH Holidays/Taylor Burk
Photo of Bobby Burns Lodge: CMH Holidays/Taylor Burk
CMH has three backcountry lodges peppered throughout the Purcell, Bugaboo, and Cariboo mountain ranges that sit in British Columbia, just beyond the Canadian Rockies.
The lodges offer understated luxurious accommodations in beautiful locations, but CMH goes one step further in that it provides short helicopter lifts to even more remote locales within the mountain ranges — places that would be otherwise inaccessible save for those with extensive mountain climbing experience and weeks of time.
Craig, an internationally recognized and ACMG-certified mountain guide, has travelled the world’s most renowned mountain ranges, from the Himalayas to Patagonia.
Yet, despite these global adventures, he insists there’s something uniquely captivating about the ranges in British Columbia's interior.
“You can get to some remote, beautiful places in the Himalayas, which takes days and days or weeks and months to get to,” Craig says, “But here, you can have that same experience in minutes, just flying out from this beautiful backcountry lodge. And it’s just us out here in this massive, beautiful place, with nobody else but nature.”
One of the misconceptions people have is that you need to be an experienced climber to take part in CMH adventures, Craig says. But in truth, the helicopter access means nearly all fitness levels can find beautiful places to explore, and groups are divided based on abilities.
"You land right there, by that alpine lake, and you can just walk as little as you want, or you can go further and hike to see even more," he says. The effort to get to the remote wilderness, which would take days or weeks, is eliminated.
CMH also operates Via Ferratas (an Italian phrase that means iron way), which is a series of metal rungs and cables that allow climbers to be guided along mountain regions that would otherwise be impassible to anyone but the most experienced climbers.
The sheer scale and untouched beauty of the landscape continue to awe Craig, even after decades of guiding.
“It doesn’t suck,” he laughs, speaking of his daily commute via helicopter to work. “It’s still a ridiculous moment when we land and open the door. You look out, breathe in that crisp mountain air, and think, ‘I can’t believe this.’”
Craig has witnessed grown men cry at the experience.
"It’s pretty common where you look back, and you’re like, ‘Oh wow, Bob’s got tears in his eyes. You okay, Bob?’ And he’s like, ‘I just can’t believe where I am.’”
He recalls one visitor from Germany who sat looking out at the landscape and chuckling to himself. When Craig questioned why he was laughing, the man just shook his head and said he'd never before been in a place where he couldn't see other people around.
"You feel this solitude," Craig says. "You're looking out into glaciers that few people have ever stood on, peaks that still have maybe been climbed by only a few people. Waterfalls, bears, and other forms of wildlife. It's pretty surreal."
About 14 years ago, Craig came very close to leaving CMH. He had been offered a job elsewhere that was hard to refuse, as it was a great growth opportunity.
But the day he made up his mind to take the job, he guided a group out into the mountains and just had the most spectacular day.
"I was like, 'Who am I kidding? This is what I'm here for. Like, this is it. This is the pinnacle experience, and this is a part of me," he remembers. It was a pivotal moment in his life, and he chose to stay at CMH.
Then last year, Craig had what can only be described as a full-circle moment:
He sat down for dinner at a table at one of the lodges and struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to him.
Craig, being the curious and friendly guy he is, asked the man his reason for coming out here.
"And he starts recounting this day that he had 14 years before with this guide," Craig says.
As the man starts telling him about this particularly spectacular mountain experience, the way the light looked in the sky and the perfection of the day, Craig gets a familiar feeling.
"As I'm listening to the way he's describing this day, I'm thinking it sounds like a day I have had personally. And then he pulls out the picture the guide took of him and his son 14 years before. And I pull out my phone and I do the same thing. I'm the guide, and I'm like, "Yeah, that was a moving day for me, too."
It was a day that had changed the course of both their lives as Craig decided to stay put, and the visitor decided that he would make it his mission to come back every year.
"He decided that this is what he wanted to do every year for the rest of his life, and that's what he's been doing."
In his decades of guiding with CMH, Craig has met many people who have been won over and continue to return year after year.
The adventure should come with a disclaimer, I joke, 'May become addictive.'
"It's kind of wild," Craig agrees. "When people say to me, 'I'm here to knock this off my bucket list.' I say to them, 'Yeah, I totally get it. I'll see you next year."
CMH operates three lodges in the wilderness of British Columbia, each offering a unique experience and access to a different area of the Columbia Mountain Range.
CMH Bugaboo Lodge
Offers heli-access to world-famous spires, massive icefields, glacial lakes and panoramic cirques.
CMH Bobbie Burns Lodge
Newly renovated, it offers access to towering arêtes, dramatic moraines, and ice-carved valleys.
CMH Cariboo Lodge
Helicopter access to explore ancient glaciers, majestic peaks, canyon waterfalls, vast alpine meadows and turquoise tarns.
Canada. Crafted by Canadians.
