The Gods are not happy. At least, I think the Gods are not happy a judgement I make not without just cause. Skiing down a glacier at the end of an arduous daylong ski tour, our group of five is confronted by winds that howl so hard they blow us back uphill. Gusts rage with such ferocity dirt from glacial moraines scours us like a super sized sandblaster. Not to mention, warm temperatures have melted anything remotely resembling powder, turning great skiing conditions to marginal at best. So without making too big a deal of it, I surmise the Gods are choked. Why is another matter.
Pantheon Heli Skiing tenure is in the literal heart of British Columbia's coveted Coast Range- 1800 square kilometers (695 square miles) of glaciers and snowfields and remote valleys that will soon be home to one of Canada's newest heli-ski operations, Pantheon Helisports. Named after the Pantheon Range-a spectacular collection of peaks that sits at the heart of this tenure-Pantheon's vision will take place in a landscape as wild as it gets in Canada, filled with skiing opportunities that would rival any location on the planet.
The tenure grants Pantheon Helisports exclusive rights to run commercial heli skiing and helicopter assisted ski touring in three sub ranges of the Coast Mountains: the Waddington, the Pantheon and the Niut. To begin the first steps towards starting an operation Pantheon Heli has invited myself, a professional skier, a photographer, a cook and a guide for a week of exploration and adventure, to create a genesis story of sorts, before he opens for business in the 2006/2007 season. So far, things are off to a banging start. Staring up at the 1,550-metre north face of Mount Pagoda-one of the largest north face's in the entire Coast Range, with all it's crevasses and sheer rock faces, with plumes of snow ripping off its ridgeline from a fierce southwesterly wind, amidst all the foreboding and threat that comes with being in the mountains when it's storming, I can't help think that Pantheon of mountain Gods that obviously liveshere-presided over by the likes of Mt. Zeus-are up to something.
Just yesterday we loaded our provisions and gear into Mike King's Long Ranger helicopter for the 20-minute flight from Bluff Lake, a three-family settlement three hours by car west of William's Lake, out to what we've termed "the remote camp." Bluff Lake will serve as Pantheon's base of operations, where guests will stay in cabins and eat and socialize in a beautiful log home built by Mike's brother, Dave. Together the two own Whitesaddle Air, for over two decades the only link to climbers, skiers and film crews who regularly frequent the area (K2, Seven Years in Tibet and Kundun were all filmed here). As a second generation helicopter pilot to fly in the area, Mike King has a deep knowledge of the area and is considered by many to be one of the most competent helicopter pilots in the province.
From the remote camp we will tour an area known as Five Finger Creek by skins and skis, familiarizing ourselves with the region's snowpack and weather patterns before calling in another helicopter from Whistler and famed Whistler based mountain guide Scott Flavelle, who will help Pantheon catalogue his endless bank of heli-ski runs. Pantheon's vision marks a new trend in the world-leading British columbian heli-ski industry. While well-known operations like Mike Wiegele's and CMH have virtually cornered the market on what many term "industrial heliskiing," where groups of up to 40 skiers share a single 12 passenger helicopter, skiing mainly on preset, well established runs, there are a host of new start-up operations, like Pantheon, designed to appeal to a growing demographic of adventurous skiers and snowboarders looking for new, more intimate experiences. Most of these new operations incorporate the use of smaller helicopters for more flexibility, in locations that are often far off the beaten path. Far away from civilization, in mountains that have rarely, if ever been skied before, clients of Pantheon Helisports are assured adventures that will change their life-the shear inspiration of the landscape itself ensures that. Under the shadow of the highest peak entirely in B.C.-4,019-metre Mt. Waddington, runs in the area average a staggering 1,500 metres (5,000 feet). The snowpack is deep and light, glaciers cling to massive mountainsides at every turn and the views are as inspirational and dramatic as any in this galaxy.
It seems our circumnavigation below Mount Pagoda on day one, with all the wind and struggle it presented, seemed a test. Out of nowhere a storm blows in from the Pacific, depositing twenty centimeters while temperatures cool to a perfect -15C. We awake to a landscape returned to winter. Snow glistens on the bows of sub-alpine fir trees and the surrounding terrain lures us from our snowbound tents. The cooling shores up the stability of the snowpack, while the fresh snow turns marginal skiing conditions to perfect. With high-pressure weather in the forecast, our guide, John Buffrey, pulls out his trusty satellite phone and makes the call. The helicopters are on their way.
The next three days are spent in a virtual dreamland. While Mike and Scott Flavelle fly the tenure to map potential runs, giving each a rating which considers snow stability and weather, photographer Matt Scholl, Whistler-based professional skier Leif Zapfe-Gilje, Blackcomb Helicopters owner and pilot Steve Flynn, Buffrey and I roam where our hearts desire. Perfect flying conditions and unfathomable skiing opportunities have us swinging back and forth like kids in a candy store. For each of us it is the pinnacle mountain experience of our lives.
Each night we fly back to the hospitality of Bluff Lake where Dave and his wife Lori share their backcountry paradise with us. It is as true a lifestyle as the wilderness their sprawling homestead abuts. The food and the conversation flows as easily as our skis did on slopes too spectacular and big to describe. We are the first skiers on many of these mountains and the novelty of us being here is something everyone is excited about. The conditions we've been blessed with, and how they've gone from terrible to perfect overnight. We joke about how we now think the mountain Gods must like us; they just needed to get something off their chests. As the trip draws to a close and each member of the genesis team heads back to their regular lives, there is this undeniable sentiment that something special happened here. As Pantheon's vision begins to turn into reality it's quite evident that there will be many groups like ours in the years to come-those who will leave this place knowing that they must return, having seen the Coast Mountains at their biggest and finest. Having cajoled with the mountain Gods in a landscape as heavenly as any on earth.
For more information about Pantheon Heli Skiing check out http://www.heliskiingcanada.com |
