Full wilderness immersion & connection at Great Bear Heli.
Article sponsored by Great Bear Heli Skiing.
Words :: Feet Banks.
“As you get older, it gets harder and harder to make friends…” —Joe Dick, Hard Core Logo
“Not at a heliski lodge it doesn’t….” —Me
Let the record show, a shared experience is a better experience, and when that means shredding untouched powder in one of the most remote and diverse areas of British Columbia, all the better.
Last March, OG Mountain Life photographer Andrew Bradley got the assignment of the decade: go check out Great Bear Heli Skiing, a small-group, off-grid lodge just beginning to explore the peaks, glaciers, and ski potential of the Kitimat Range and the Dean River Watershed.
Andrew—a lifelong skier raised on the small hills of Canada’s east but based out of Whistler since 1996—returned with stunning photos, a huge sense of awe and respect for the hands-on, DIY history of the Blewett family who’ve poured their lives into Great Bear Lodge for generations, and this insight:
“People come heli skiing because they love skiing and want to get the perfect run, every run. Perfect pitch, perfect snow, fast, nimble and efficient. But I keep finding myself drawn to the people, the characters who make this lodge come to life feel like family; the other guests, a tight-knit group of friends who’ve been adventuring together since the 1980s and were genuinely thrilled to be there and share my first-timer’s experience. Skiing has always been an incredible way to make friends. For me, the days of the season will blur together into one big pow day. It’s the people I’m with that make each moment memorable.
Of course, I loved making flawless powder turns in one of B.C.’s vast and wild ranges, a place I’d probably never experience otherwise. But more importantly, I left Great Bear Heli Skiing even more certain that life really is all about the shared experience. And if that means dream-like days skiing seemingly endless powder runs out of a beautiful, hand-built lodge full of amazing people with an A-Star parked out front— please, send me back!”
The story of Great Bear Heli actually starts with no skiing at all. Hand-built in the 1950s by Richard Blewett and Bob Stewart, the lodge was originally for fly-fishing—anglers would come from around the world for a chance to hook wild steelhead and salmon in the total wilderness of the Dean River.
Built just over 50 kilometres north of Bella Coola, in a roadless swath of the Kitimat Range (a sub-range of BC’s fabled Coast Mountains), Great Bear Lodge is about as remote as it gets. After the original fishing lodge was lost to a flood in 2010, current owners Mandi and Billy Blewett (Richard’s son) oversaw the re-build (everything by hand), working with the long-time lodge staff to ensure they ended up with the best facility possible, and one everyone felt connected to.
“Everything was built from scratch,” explains Zoe Blewett, one of the third generation of Blewetts to work this land. “All our staff had a hand in the building from the original design, to milling the wood, tiling the floors, building the stone fireplace, sanding and painting every single board, we’ve done it all. We’re like a family so there’s an innate sense of responsibility and intimacy, you cannot fathom doing anything but the best possible job and I think guests notice that and appreciate it.”
With a new lodge came a new plan—build off the (now decades-famous) Lower Dean River Lodge fishing history and expertise with a winter ski/snowboard experience out amongst the surrounding 6250 square kilometers of mostly un-skied mountainscape.
“It’s always been a dream to be able to share this paradise year-round,” Billy Blewett says. And on February 4, 2022, that dream became a reality as the first guests stepped from the lodge to a waiting A-star helicopter, and into the kind of ski trip few could have imagined. Hosting only eight guests at a time means Great Bear Heli has seen only 128 guests since opening—and they’ve only explored less than a quarter of their tenure.
“We legitimately have any kind of terrain. Imagine the largest private ski hill you can think of, with no other skiers, ever.
“There’s just so much here that has never been skied,” says head guide Ken Bibby, a veteran ski guide (and excellent fly fisher) who logs 100-plus days a year on snow. “It’s not uncommon for guests to get first descents of new runs.”
And contrary to many pre-conceptions, this doesn’t mean every line is ski-movie steep or “extreme-gnarly shred, bro!”—it just means hardly anyone has ever been there. “We legitimately have any kind of terrain,” Bibby adds. “Imagine the largest private ski hill you can think of, with no other skiers, ever. Untouched snow on every run and the helicopter is your chairlift.”
“Heli skiing is so crazy,” Zoe adds. “My sister and I learned to ski with our parents early on, but the local hill for Bella Coola was just a DIY handle tow in the middle of a logging slash. And now I’m skiing from a helicopter? It’s the craziest thing. My first day was mind-blowing. I smiled the whole day, it felt like a dream—I get to have these epic pow days on unbelievable terrain and I didn’t have to sweat to get here? I didn’t think I’d ever get to heli ski in my life and now I am tail guide. That’s so lucky, it’s insane.”
That deep-rooted gratitude, enthusiasm, and sense of place doesn’t stop when the helicopters park for the evening either. Mandi Blewett (Zoe’s mom) grew up on a homestead not far from the lodge and as co-owner and Executive Chef at Great Bear Heli, she ensures every meal is an experience seeped in local flavour, using organic ingredients sourced locally and around the province. Her recipes, and hospitality, have been strengthened by generations of familiarity with the Dean Watershed area, and what makes it special.
“My family has spent every summer here for as long as I can remember,” Zoe says. “We’d leave school early each year to get out here for the opening of the lodge. It feels like all my childhood memories are from here—mud baths or Dad’s make-work projects where he’d have us raking sand or trying to chop cottonwood logs. It’s hard to pick one favourite thing about this area—it feels rugged, remote and mystical. I’m no scientist but I think the ecological diversity amazes me the most. You get to experience so much wilderness, summer or winter.”
And yes, Zoe does have a run named after her (“Zoltan”) so does Ken (ask him about “The Gap Toothed Princess”), and while not every guest gets to name a run on their first time (weather plays a role in exploring new terrain), it’s almost certain they’ll make some new friends to go with all the wild, pow-shredding memories.
To learn more, visit greatbearheliskiing.com
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