Whirlybirds in Canada

I feel like I’m constantly playing catch up with my blog. A lack of internet connection while on the road, a busted computer, and ultimately me pursuing my MBA at CU-Boulder has put catching up on trip reports from our grand life break/pre-retirement on hold. But, I’m going to pick up right where I left off….

After seeing our friends Zach and Grete in Whitefish, MT, Becca and I made our way into Canada. An opportunity presented itself to go heli-skiing for a day, so my tired legs gladly accepted a break from hiking up hill and we stepped on the gas towards Revelstoke, BC.

We spent an hour or so briefing about the dos and don’ts of being around a helicopter all day and doing some beacon practice. This bought me some time for that all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet to digest…I may have gotten a little wide eyed about the prospects of not having oatmeal for breakfast for the first time in weeks. Basically, there’s two main rules in heli-skiing: don’t throw things around the whirlybird and be sure to shut the door on your way out. Following those rules and keeping the pilot happy is key to everyone having a good day.

Linus making turns with Selkirk

My ski partner for the day was Linus. While he was the youngest in the group, he showed everyone that he could hang just fine. We were dealing with some pretty flat lighting conditions all day, which made things interesting…

Flat light? No Problem.

Linus showing the rest of our crew how it’s done

These pilots are pretty damn impressive. It took me a while to get over the feeling that they were going to land right on top of us.

Seconds before I got smacked with rotor wash…

Linus and his family had us over for dinner that night, where we found out that he was looking at coming to Colorado for college. A few nights ago, we actually met up with them while they were in town looking at schools. Hopefully, we’ll be able to share some turns again soon!

View from our campsite…AKA the parking lot by the helipad.

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