Mountains of British Columbia:
Sir Sandford Group
The Sir Sandford Group is comprised of 24 peaks on an east-west axis north of Gold River on the east and Goldstream River on the west.
The group includes Mount Sir Sandford, at 3519m the highest peak in the Selkirks.
The rock is generally poor and many of the 40 mountaineering routes are to be found on the heavily glaciated northern flanks of the major peaks.
Most parties visiting the area will base themselves at Great Cairn-Ben Ferris Hut located near the foot of Mount Sir Sandford and which is best reached via helicopter.
It is possible to reach the hut on foot but such approaches will require two or more days. In most years only one or two climbing parties visit the Great Cairn-Ben Ferris Hut and vicinity.
Adamant Group
The Adamant Group is a compact group of 12 granitic peaks at the head of Granite Glacier.
This group contains the largest concentration of high peaks in the Selkirks with heights ranging between 2890m and 3345m.
The northern flanks are heavily glaciated while the southern faces present steep granite walls. There are over 65 routes in the area with difficulties to 5.11.
The Bill Putnam-Fairy Meadow Hut, which offers a reasonable base for climbing on the northern flanks, can be reached in 5 to 6 hours via the Swan Creek trail.
Most parties planning on climbing from the Austerity Glacier access the area via helicopter. Despite the superb climbing potential, only a small number of parties visit the area each year.
Gothics Group
The Gothics is a group of 27 peaks ranging in elevation between 2538m and 3245m arranged in a large horseshoe around the head of Gothics Glacier.
The Gothics Group offers over 100 routes most of which are on firm granite with difficulties to 5.11.
Despite the relative ease of access and large number of high quality routes, only a small number of parties visit the area each year.
The Bill Putnam-Fairy Meadow Hut, frequently used as a base for climbing in the Gothics, can be reached in 5 to 6 hours via the Swan Creek trail although access via helicopter is also common.
Source: Selkirks South and Selkirks North by David P. Jones, published by Elaho Press
Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.
Anatole France
Hikers on an overlook are dwarfed by the ranks of peaks in the Adamant Range
rising behind them, all of it just a short helicopter ride from Canadian Mountain
Holidays' Adamant Lodge.
Climb every mountain
CMH makes it easy for hikers to have a peak experience in the Canadian Rockies
Kicking off ice crampons as clouds swirled around us, our small band picks its way across a snowy ridge to the mountain’s rocky summit where we share high fives and enjoy our adrenaline rushes.
Around us the snow-capped peaks stretch in all directions to the horizon, no sign of civilization anywhere from our vantage point. Half the mountains in this region are unnamed and one in six have no record of ever being climbed.
The Himalayas of Tibet? The Andes of South America? The Pamirs of central Asia?
No, these are the northern Selkirks, a craggy mountain range in northeastern British Columbia. Instead of a major expedition to this inaccessible area, we had merely swooped in on a helicopter and completed the ascent in a few hours. We would be back at our lodge in time to enjoy a soak in the hot tub, a glass of wine and the alpenglow of a lingering Canadian sunset.
This is civilized mountaineering and a unique opportunity for those who seek pristine alpine environments. It’s all possible because of a string of resorts operated by Canadian Mountain Holidays and serviced by Alpine Helicopters dotting the frontier north of Revelstoke where the roads finally give out in the face of phalanxes of glacier-draped peaks.
Travelers understandably might balk at the idea of using their vacation time scrambling up mountains no matter how breath-taking the views or tantalizing the elation of making it to the top of something. But this type of activity is just one of many CMH offers in its idyllic playgrounds.
Hikers pause by a glass-smooth lake that reflects craggy glaciated peaks.
Most visitors spend tranquil days meandering across high sylvan meadows dotted with brilliant alpine flowers. Looking in any direction affords views of mountain vistas uninterrupted by any sign of civilization. Helicopter-aided access to these pristine settings makes it possible for people of all ages and fitness levels to enjoy these remote hiking areas.
“You can explore and feel like you’re going somewhere for the first time,” said Erich Unterberger, manager of the Adamant Lodge, CMH’s sturdy resort that sits on a mountainside plateau at the intersection of four stunning valleys in the majestic Adamants Range of the Selkirks. “The potential out there is unlimited.”
Access to the lodge itself is possible by a rudimentary logging road that wends it way up a river valley from CMH’s sister Gothics Lodge, but visitors arrive via a quick 10-minute helicopter ride. The Gothics Lodge is an hour drive north from Revelstoke or a five-hour bus ride from Calgary, Alberta, the easiest access from an international airport.
After getting settled in and enjoying the first of a series of hearty meals, visitors are introduced to the exacting procedures of helicopter travel. Over the next several days, visitors will be ferried in small groups to a variety of hiking and climbing areas on nearby mountains and need to know how to get in and out of a helicopter that has dangerous whirling blades above and behind the entry hatches. Hikers huddle in a tight knot a few yards from where the helicopter will land and then quickly board in a crouch.
Then there are safety straps to connect and emergency exit procedures to learn should the helicopter have to land unexpectedly. It's an orderly process, and it precedes the exhilaration of mountain helicopter travel, zooming across valleys and ridges and landing in lush meadows or on rocky outcroppings.
CMH helicopters can perch in breathtaking mountaintop locations.
Days of hiking in remote glades carpeted with delicate alpine flowers or across chunky, creaking glaciers, often with a gentle mist falling or clouds swirling around, end with a quick copter ride back to the lodge for congratulatory cocktails and sumptuous suppers.
Unterberger notes that the main clientele of CMH's remote lodges is amateur hikers seeking pampered adventures, but serious climbers seeking first ascents also avail themselves of the air transportation to gain access to remote peaks.
David Jones, author of Selkirks South and Selkirks North, hiking guides to British Columbia's mountains, notes that 38 of the 199 mountains taller than 2,000 meters (6,000 feet) in the south Selkirks and 54 of the 306 peaks in the north Selkirks have no record of ever being climbed.
In addition, Jones documents that 57 peaks in the south Selkirks have no name and 15 have unofficial names, and a whopping 98 mountains in the north Selkirks are unnamed and 114 have unofficial names.
Here is a tantalizing prospect: Mountain climbers seeking a claim to immortality need look no farther than the relatively accessible mountains (thanks to CMH's helicopters) of northeastern British Columbia to not only make a first ascent but even officially register a name for the peak. The Canadian government has procedures for doing so.
With clouds swirling around them, a group of jubilant climbers take a break after summiting an unnamed peak in the Adamant Range.
Copyright Gary Olson 2006-2010. First published in The Denver Post
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