It's Summer Time And The Chickens Are On The Loose!

FORWARD TO A FRIEND

Halfway between Golden and Revelstoke — perfectly located somewhere close to nowhere

Hi %%FIRST%%!

Summer is truly here in Golden with many days over 30C (86F). Our guides, lodge and office staff have been taking advantage of the warm weather by mountain biking, white-water rafting, hiking, travelling and just chilling out. What have you been up to? Anyone been to South America or New Zealand for some skiing (if you'd like to do some heli-skiing in NZ, go see Julian and his team at Southern Lakes Heli-Skiing!)?

At this time of year we often get asked what do we do when there's no snow! Many of our guiding team continue to guide clients during the summer, taking them on expeditions to do some hiking or climbing (check out GG and Paddy's websites!).

For those of us in the office we are busy planning for the next ski season. Our lodge staff are extremely busy this summer. The lodge has been going off! Travellers are discovering that Heather Mountain Lodge is a convenient and peaceful place to stay and makes for a nice alternative to the chain motels in Golden or Revelstoke....and it's often better value!

A nice feature of the Lodge in summer is Chef Dan's veggie garden.

Dan Braco and garden.

Head Chef Dan Bracko has been very busy this summer.

He headed over to Whistler to study/train at the Bearfoot Bistro under the tutelage of renowned executive chef, Melissa Craig.  The Bearfoot Bistro is one of the best restaurants in the country and is one of only 150 Dom Perignon Houses in the world!  Wine Spectator Magazine said "(The Bearfoot Bistro) is honored by the Wine Spectator for having one of the most outstanding wine lists in the world." And the food is pretty amazing too.

At the Bearfoot Dan came away with many ideas for new dishes and how to turn dinner into a truly entertaining experience. Maybe we will see him 'sabre-ing' some champagne bottles!

In addition to mixing it with the country's top chefs, Dan has been busy cultivating a flourishing garden beside the pond near the Lodge this summer.

Dan sent me this report on what is happening out at the lodge: "The garden is looking great! I purchased 6 one year old brown laying hens and, although the farmer suggested due to the move and excitement they wouldn't lay for a few days, within 24 hours we had our first eggs! Our laying hens lay approximately 1 egg each per day and we are struggling to keep up with eating them all. We had a scare the other day as one of the hens made a leap to freedom and almost got eaten by a dog!"

If you are lucky enough to join us for a meal this summer many of the items you may find on your plate will have come fresh from Dan's garden. Dan is growing peas, beans, carrots, parsnip, radish, zucchini, cucumber, sunburst squash, potato and an ever growing strawberry patch. His herbs and edible flowers are already producing great garnishes such as; basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, edible pansies and nasturtiums and of course heaps of wild mint. Oh yeah... Dan's also growing blueberries!

"Our blueberry bushes surrounding the tree-line along the Lodge are look like producing a bumper crop and we are taking it one step further by planting 15 blueberry seedlings along the Lodge building for harvest in the future".

Even if you aren't staying the night, make sure you come in for lunch or dinner!

What's Happening At GCH Over Summer?

• New website! We have just recently launched a new website for our summer business at Heather Mountain Lodge. If you have never been to the Lodge and wonder what the Lodge and rooms look like, check out the website and photo gallery. You can now book online!
• Lodge Summer Bookings — With a bit of marketing and incorporating an online reservation system, we have had a HUGE increase in summer business! If you've stayed with us during the summer OR winter and would like to help us get a higher ranking, we'd love it if you were able to write a brief review of your trip on TripAdvisor! Please click here.
• Weddings — More and more happy couples are discovering that Heather Mountain Lodge makes the perfect venue for a mountain wedding. It helps that we do not charge a venue fee! Getting married doesn't have to be expensive! This summer we were pleased to host 4 weddings. If you are considering, check out our Weddings page and download our Wedding Planner.

K2 Skis Telemark Team Rider Adam U enjoying
the terrain at Great Canadian. Photo: Grant Gunderson.

Winter 2010/2011

Despite the summer heat, we are really looking forward to this coming winter! We are stoked that bookings are well ahead of last year and it looks like we will have a longer season, with bookings as early as December 18th all the way in to April! There's also quite a few weeks that are already booked up, so it's worth dropping us a line if you are considering joining us this winter.

If you have any questions, please drop us a line!

Tim Wilkinson
Director - Marketing and Communications

Great Canadian Heli-Skiing   PO Box 2284, Golden, BC, Canada VOA 1H0

Ph: +1 250 344 2326   Toll Free: 1 866 424 4354   Fax: +1 250 344 2316

Email: tim@canadianheli-skiing.com   Web: canadianheli-skiing.com