robson helimagic inc., day tours

I did it!For over 50 years, I have wanted to hike the Berg Lake Trail, descending from behind Mt. Robson, the tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies, with its turquoise blue lake with its glacier tumbling down into it, and past 4 major and many minor waterfalls, for a distance of 23 kilometers, or nearly 14 miles! It descends 2,610 feet, or over a net of half a mile vertically downhill! Please see the map and the vertical profile of the trail to get a proper view of my journey.I knew that at my age, I could never do the uphill part, but I thought that at least I could do to downhill part. So I took a helicopter (Robson Helimagic) up to the upper trailhead and then made my way down. The helicopter pilot was great!I cannot say I just walked, as in a leisurely stroll, letting gravity do all the work. The trail had many, many ups and downs. So my impression that there would be no arduous uphill hiking was dead wrong.But I did it!I could not find anyone to do it with me, so I did it alone. It was at the top of my “bucket list”, and I did it. I was properly prepared, with hiking shoes, a backpack with the essentials, and a hiking pole (absolutely essential).Here are some pictures from the helicopter ride to the upper trailhead. The lake below is Kinney Lake, which is near the lower end of the trail. We are headed much farther north to the upper trailhead.The trail follows the river you can see way into the background of the picture below. We are headed there and beyond, behind the mountain. The upper end of Kinney Lake is beneath us.I had the mental expectation of gorgeous views, with the sunshine hitting the mountain, glacier and lake in all their glory, as in one of my pictures. This is what it was supposed to look like.Unfortunately. As soon as the helicopter dropped me off, it began to “mist”, and then the “mist” turned to rain. Soon, I was crossing a huge moraine and boulder slope on a one-foot wide trail. The wind started, and I was pelted with rain. I thought “is this really happening?” Here is a map of the trail. The helicopter took me to number 7 at the top of the map. I hiked “down” (and up) over the red dotted line to the Berg Lake Trailhead at the bottom of the map. The steepest part was where the waterfalls are.As for the trail, on the part that was supposed to be the worst, yes it was, but I expected that. I slipped and fell a few times, but the only thing that was injured was my pride, since one time someone was coming down the trail behind me and helped me get up. I felt like a big “klutz”. Here’s a picture of the condition of the trail in one part. A little bit fuzzy, but you can see that the rain on the rocks made it slippery.I had a rain poncho, but I waited too long to put it on, so I was already wet. Later, when the rain seemed to stop, I took it off, only to have it start raining again. Here I am during one of the breaks from the rain, but I am already soaked. The bandana was to protect my ears at the beginning because of the wind. At this point it was not windy, but it kept my wet hair from falling in my eyes. Don’t I look like a rugged mountaineer? I am not as fat as I look, I had many layers of clothing.After the “worst downhill part”, I expected it to get easier. But it didn’t. The trail goes up and down, over small tributaries that lead to the mighty and turbulent Robson River, with its myriad of waterfalls. Regardless of these complaints, here are some pictures of some of the majestic waterfalls I passed by.Note: I have reached my limit on pictures, so the rest you will have to imagine, unless I can post another!!!!!Here is the view of where I am going after the waterfalls end.There are many “bridges”, one of which was an actual swinging suspension bridge. But others were merely two two-by fours or sixes across a waterway. In one place, the water was deep, but the bridge consisted of only a single two by six. The other had been washed downstream. At that point, my legs felt like rubber. I did not trust myself to walk across it upright. I tried to “shimmy” on my butt to get across, but eventually put my feet in the water, up to my knees, just to push myself across. I hiked the rest of the way with heavy, wet jeans and sloshing hiking shoes. If this were a warm and sunshiny day, it would have been fun and even refreshing. But I was tired, wet and alone. I should have gotten a picture, but I was too wet to care about it.Along the way, there were camp shelters, with lots of people in them, happily cooking food and trying to dry out. But most of them were campers, and were staying overnight. I applaud them for getting there, either uphill or downhill, with all of their camping gear and food. But I had to get to the bottom and to the safety of my beautiful RAV4 and my sleeping bag. I thought I could do it in 8 hours, and that was being generous. In fact it took me over 11 hours. Thank goodness, in Canada, at that time of year, darkness does not set in until nearly 11 PM. I had been dropped off by helicopter at about 10 AM. I think I finally arrived at the parking lot about 9PM.I have to laugh when I read that the most popular part of the hike is, what was for me, the last 7 kilometers (only about 4.5 miles) coming down from Kinney Lake. It was truly up and down, and up and down, and up and down. I saw people hiking uphill toward the lake at about 8:30 PM carrying umbrellas, like they were out for a leisurely evening stroll! I also saw people hiking on the treacherous parts with flip-flops! The ease with which I saw so many people making the hike with no apparent effort, made me realize my age. I have wanted to do this for over 53 years, and some people were only ½ or even 1/3 of that.Nevertheless, I did it! Despite the terrible weather, the sights were spectacular. Most of all, I appreciate the beautiful aroma of the forest. No matter how many pictures and even videos I took, I was keenly aware that there is nothing can capture that aroma. There was a point along the trail where the forest becomes a rainforest, due to the orographic effects of the huge Mt. Robson. I took a picture, but nothing can really capture the beauty. This is just a poor example. My cameras ran out of battery power.Could my experience have been better? Of course! Was it worth it? Definitely yes!Let me say, however, that I checked the weather forecast on a Monday, and the Weather Channel predicted an 80% chance of rain for my reservation date of Friday, the 18th of July. By email, I asked Robson Helimagic if I could postpone my trip to the following Monday (The helicopter only goes on Mondays and Fridays). Yes, I was told, but according to EnviroCanada, there was no chance of rain on Friday. So, I went ahead with Friday. For the next few days I was camping, and out of the computer loop of weather forecasting. The weather on the day before looked nice, but when I woke up on “the big day”, it looked not so nice. Unfortunately, my worst weather fears materialized. I am sure they knew. I wish they would have told me. But maybe I would have chickened out. I’m glad I didn’t. I don’t think waiting until Monday would have been any better.Here are pictures of the day before, and the morning of the “big day”.The day before, from my campsite along the Robson River:The morning of the Big Day, again from my campsite:The week before it had been relatively hot in this area. People were complaining about the 80 degree weather. I can say that it was not cold. Maybe in the low 70’s. Any colder and the rain would have made it even more uncomfortable after I had gotten so wet.My last words:Just make sure of the weather forecast first. I recommend doing this hike in July, which I did. I just was unlucky about the weather that particular day.

The biggest difficulty about doing a scenic helicopter tour around Mt Robson is that the weather can make it impossible to fly, regardless of your booking. As the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, Mt Robson is prone to rain and high winds. Since the helicopter company can only charge if they actually rake you up, you have to be prepared with an alternate plan.The forecast for Saturday was for clods and showers, byg we drove up Friday evening just in case. When the weather in the morning was questionable, we rebooked for Sunday after talking with the pilot and drove to Jasper National Park for the day instead.Sunday morning was good though, and we headed for the helicopter oad for 10:00 AM. What an adventure! Helicopters are quite different from small planes, getting closer to the mountains and the glaciers, and travelling at a slower speed. While the flight was just 35 minutes, it was much more intense - a few bumps here and there, but offering incredible views of Mt Robson and the mountains surrounding it. The mountain itself is quite imposing, and the popular Berg Lake trail that hikers take to get there is a lot more fun to do ftom the air! I took a hundred photos in that short time. So much to see, and every moment offfered a new vista. There are some moments that are so intense that they'll stay with you fiorever. Thr Robson Helimagic flight was one of them.

Have travelled the world but taking the helicopter to Mount Robson was one of the best things we've done. Professional staff and a special thank you to our inspiring female pilot. Made the beginning of our camping stay at Mount Robson magical (not to mention avoiding the arduous hike up).

This was an ideal way to enjoy a very scenic helicopter ride into Berg Lake vicinity & then hike out in one day. We were a group of 12 friends & felt this was the perfect way to experience the splendour of Mt Robson & the picturesque trail out.Excellent, friendly pilot & our booking was handled efficiently. We were fortunate to have such good weather - and now keen to hike in the Berg Lake area (which involves camping) - but we can arrange for helicopter to carry our gear!

We came from Belgium and are very glad we made this fantastic trip with Robson Helimagic.A superb and unforgettable flight and a wonderfull hike along Mount Robson on July 14th. The Berg Lake trail is a must go when you are in this region.Thank you once again for this 'magic' day.Family FOLLENS ROBERT

Hello Sasha.Once again, I apologize for the delay. However the time of 9:00 am is the approximate time we have listed on the confirmation that you received. Normally on busy Berg days , we have a second machine available. Due to the excessive stretch of hot weather, forest fires were quite active as you may have noticed by all the smoke in the area and a second machine was not an option. Many factors come into play when we are relying on mother nature. I understand your frustration, it certainly did not go according to your plans. I can assure you this was not a true representation of a typical RHM experience. Should you wish to discuss this further, please call me or email.Best, Chris

We are two ladies approaching sixty and we don't do back packing anymore. Heli hiking opened for us a new opportunities get higher and closer to the mountains. We camped at Mt. Robson pass CG and from here we have been able to do one day hikes around just with a day pack. What an amazing experience! We already plan our next trip! Thank you Robson Helimagic!Sharka &Marta

Thank you Robson Helimagic for giving us a once in a lifetime experience.We booked a heli hike (really easy through their website, just leave a credit card details to reserve) and took a flight up to Robson pass and then hiked out in one day.We were really lucky as the weather was great all day - the 23km hike took us 7 hours at a very steady pace and the scenery the whole way down was breathtaking!! We've done quite a few hikes and this one, though long, was easy with only a few inclines whilst the majority was downhill. Without stops for photos and sightseeing it could easily be done in 5-6 hours.Robson Helimagic were great and really professional - we felt really safe and secure the whole time - the view from the helicopter was unbeatable.If you have limited time and want to experience the wonders of Mount Robson these are the guys who can help!

we flew to berg lake, snowshoed to the glacier, then came back to the cabin to warm up by the fire. i have to put this down as one of the coolest family adventures we have ever done. the ride up/back was spectacular. the lake/glacier snowshoe - spectacular. lunch in the cabin - charming as can be. the guides were great. i would put this down as a "must do." i don't know if it gets any better.

It was a beautiful ride and the hike back on the Berg Lake Trail was one of the best we've ever done. It took us 7.5 hours to get back to our car but we took time to enjoy every waterfall and overlook along the way. We will be going back!

I've hiked up several times but this year I was taking the easy way up. Sept. 20, 2013 was an incredible day, sunny and warm. My husband and I hiked down after an amazing chopper ride that provided views that we could never have seen in our previous hikes up. Definitely a trip of a life time. This will be an annual event. Thank you to Chris for being so patient every time we had to book, cancel and rebook. (4 times) :)

We decided to book a day hiking trip with this Heli company. Chris the office sales person was awesome. She took care of every small detail. We left on time and we were dropped off at Berg Lake for an amazing hike down. The scenery was spectacular from every aspect of the hike down. Waterfalls glaciers and wildlife. Our pilot Jason was informative and pleasant to deal with. It took us longer then expected to hike down as we kept on stopping to enjoy everything around us. Our ride back patiently waited for us and drove us back to our vehicles. Thank you again!

One of the best hikes in Canadian Rockies is only the #3 attraction in Valemount? Once again: something is wrong with TA ranking system and you guys should do something about it.We did Berg Lake Trail this weekend and we did it the easiest way: Helimagic took us up above the Berg Lake, we took a short hike to Robson Glacier and then walked down. Great decision for one day hike because going up in one day would definitely be wrong if you want to enjoy the scenery. Even going down in one day is a rush. Next year we will do this again but this time we will stay at least one night at Berg Lake and one night at Kinney Lake.Trail is well maintained and even for the people that are not in great shape, these 23 km going downhill will be a piece of cake. I strongly recommend it to everyone. Scenery is awesome!

We have hiked this area many times and either made Berg Lake the destination or through hiked further into the back country. This time we wanted to enjoy the day hiking in the Berg Lake area. The day hiking was spectacular, but the best hikes are full days by themselves so we are really happy we chose to fly in. Stayed for three nights and hiked to the Mural Glacier, Snowbird Pass, and the Tobaggan Falls/Hargraeves Lake routes. We were able to enjoy the best of the area as well as hike out and appreciate the trail itself. Very well organized and professional service!

Chris and the crew at Robson Helimagic were awesome, made it very easy for us to organize a trip to into Adolphus Lake Camp for 2 nights. Two out of our group of 4 enjoyed the Helicopter ride into Berg Lake area, where we could join the other two hiking up, and they didn't mind a bit that we could bring a few luxury items along :) The views were excellent with clear skies, the crew flying us in were friendly and professional. We look forward to planning the next trip!