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The Ultimate Christmas Present
Page 2 of 7
Then staff them with two star chefs who understand the firestorm of hunger a day’s snorkelling through deep powder can work up. Throw in efficient, friendly housepersons, equally at home making your bed or holding their own in a conversation on world politics over a nightcap. Add a couple of strong-handed masseuses to knead your weary body, a riproaring chopper pilot or two who can set a Bell 212 down on a skinny alpine ridge a mountain goat might think twice about traversing, a full-time mechanic to make sure the beast stays safely in the air, and a couple of ski techs to keep the equipment waxed and sell you just the right piece of gear if what you brought just doesn’t cut it.
Scour the world for even-tempered, keen-eyed, level-headed mountain guides. Men and women who can ski anything effortlessly. Leaders who can read weather and snow conditions and thread a line down steep couloirs, across endless glaciers and between seemingly impenetrable forests of old growth fir and cedar. Coaches who can instil confidence in their charges, encouraging them to push their limits and expand their boundaries.
Package the whole kit ’n’ caboodle into a high-touch, guest-centred adventure holiday. Remember your guests’ names, preferences, prior visits, cumulative vertical skied. Stay in touch with them. Lure them back. Treat them right. Make them beg for more.
Simple, eh?
And does it work? Ask Art Dion. Last season, Art reached a milestone few others have, or ever will, hit: 15 million vertical feet skied with CMH. No, Art’s not a guide. And it took him the better – way better – part of 22 years to log that kind of mileage. But time flies when you’re having fun.
Or even when you’re not. Rifling through the Cariboo Lodge’s library on a rainy Saturday afternoon, arrival day, I stumbled on the collection of guest logs. The earliest, 1976 – two years after the lodge was built – contained passages of poetic ecstasy. It also contained passages like this one. "Can’t believe our shitty luck. Rained five days, got in half a day skiing. Best skiing in my life."
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May 20, 2013, 8:30 AM
Broken windows, vandalism reported
Police investigating mischief calls over long weekend More...
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May 19, 2013, 9:15 AM
Updated: Brackendale home gutted by fire
Owners watch helplessly as flames and smoke pour out of their home More...
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May 18, 2013, 2:00 PM
Water study results positive for Garibaldi at Squamish
Investigation into Paradise Valley water source for mountain resort continues More...
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