DAY 1 - Arrive Calgary & transfer to Banff at your leisure.

*Due to the early morning departure from Banff to the heli-pad and lodges, arrival for each individual lodge stay requires one additional pre-trip night in Banff, Alberta. Calgary is the closest international airport to Banff, where our heli-hiking adventure begins. There are several shuttles available for your transfer to Banff. It is about an hour and half drive. Spend the afternoon and evening at your leisure. (Accomodations for this night are not included in the tour price.  We will have recommended hotels and help you with your reservation.)

Day 2 - Banff - Bobbie Burns Lodge or Bugaboo Lodge

An early morning departure from Banff has us headed westward along the shores of the Bow River past the incredible mountain citadels of Banff National Park and into equally impressive Kootenay National Park. Wildlife sightings along the way are normal and inspiring. We cross the Rocky Mountain Trench, arriving at the Bugaboos Helipad. Snacks and beverages will be provided on board.

After a helicopter safety talk, we climb in and soar up for an afternoon of getting acquainted with the High Country. In the late afternoon, our chopper picks us up and it's back to the lodge where delicious hors d'oeuvres are served in the lounge. Our casual gourmet dinner, served family style, will be at 7:00 (save room for the pastry chef's latest inspiration). Then some camaraderie by the fire, maybe a sauna or whirlpool, and a great night's sleep. (CB,L,D)

Day 3 - Heli-Hiking (B.L.D)

Day 4 - Heli-Hiking (B.L.D)

You might want to join the optional morning stretch, or sleep a little later. A hardy buffet breakfast is served before our full day of heli-hiking begins! The first helicopter leaves with a flight into the Bugaboos that takes us to a range of personality-rich glaciers, emerald lakes, airy mountain ridges and soft fields of wildflowers. We'll have a picnic lunch at a particularly winsome spot or on special days enjoy a barbecue lunch surrounded by spectacular utterly unspoiled high country landscapes.

Now, we hope this web page makes it clear not only that the landscapes in which we spend our days are knock-down, world-class gorgeous and varied, but that there is probably no other place on earth where you can experience such wildness and solitude without lugging a 40-pound backpack.

So, message delivered! Great hiking, picnicking, a little learning about glacial landscapes and their hardy life-forms, and lots of fun accomplished, we fly back at day's end to the lodge for (depending on our mood) maybe a massage, a browse in the lodge shop, a game of chess, a go at the lodge climbing wall, a cocktail on the deck as alpen-glow bathes the peaks we've been communing with, dinner, storytelling in the living room, and another great night's sleep. (B.L.D)

Day 5 - Transfer  Day

If home or other points beyond are calling you(3 day trip), you fly out of the lodge and board a deluxe motor coach and retrace the journey through Kootenay and Banff National Parks en route to Banff and Calgary. You will have the choice of being dropped off in Banff or the Calgary Airport (B.L)

If you continue...Hike to Bugaboo Lodge!

For those doing the 6 night trip after breakfast we begin one of the most fantastic hikes in the Bugaboo range, a ridge walk from the Bobbie Burns to Bugaboo Lodge. This hike is nothing short of spectacular. You spend half your time Heli-Hiking amidst the vast wilderness of one area before hiking, walking and flying to a second area, where your adventure continues.

Day 6- Heli-Hiking (B.L.D)

Day 7 - Heli-Hiking (B.L.D)

Day 8 - Depart for Banff or Calgary Airport

After breakfast we fly out of the lodge, board a deluxe motor coach and retrace the journey through Kootenay and Banff National Parks en route to Banff and Calgary. You will have the choice of being dropped off in Banff or the Calgary Airport (B.L)

"If you can only go on one more vacation for the rest of your life, this should be IT!"
Gene & Jo Ann Taylor, 1994, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009.