Canada is wild. In 1978 I joined an expedition to the Cirque of the Unclimables in the Northwest Territories. It was the most remote wilderness area I had ever visited, more remote than anything I had experienced in mountain ranges from the Himalaya to the Andes. Everest base camp is an easy days walk from Lobuche, the closest settlement and across the Greater Himalaya there is almost always shelter relatively close by. Not here in northern Canada. The only way to get into the Cirque is by float plane to a high glacial lake and then 2,250 feet of vertical hiking with a heavy pack. To leave involves a steep descent and hope that a prearranged float plane is waiting. In 1978, before the days of satellite phones, this demanded a whole lot of faith. If the plane didn’t arrive the hike out was several days across miles of wild, trackless tundra and spruce forest home to over 500 grizzly bears.
Lotus Flower Tower, Cirque of the Unclimables
Today, these adventures have been tamed by the ease of modern communications but Canada still offers some of the most dramatic wilderness on Earth and you don’t have to risk being eaten by wildlife to experience it.
A 2-hour bus ride and short helicopter flight from Banff lands you in one of the most beautiful remote mountain landscapes in North America. As a climber, the Bugaboos were always on my bucket list and they more than lived up to my expectations.
Snowpatch and Bugaboo Spire from Bugaboo Lodge
Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH) were pioneers in introducing heli-skiing to Canada over 50 years ago. They added heli-hiking to their programs and developed a catalog of soft adventure activities that give participants a genuine high mountain thrill with the knowledge that they will be in warm lodge with a well-stocked bar before bedtime. The most spectacular of these activities are a couple of via ferratas, one in the Bugaboos and the other at nearby Bobbie Burns. Via ferrata is Italian for “iron road” which is essentially a protected route to the top of the mountain. Iron rungs and cables are fixed on steep rock faces and although traditional rock climbers are quick to criticize the practice, for the person who has never set foot in high mountains it is an awe inspiring, and at times unnerving, experience.
The mountain guides at CMH are continually pushing the envelope of activities that are challenging, adrenaline generating but ultimately minimizing risk. The latest adventure in the Bobbie Burns combines Tyrolean traverses, waterfalls, vertical rock faces and glaciers – a whole load of fun for any adrenaline junkie. Here is taste.
