Roger's Waters

This past June we had the pleasure of hosting Roger Waters and his production manager, Trip (aptly named), for 3 glorious days of trout fishing on the Chilko River. A legendary rock celebrity from the band, Pink Floyd, Roger arrived by A-Star helicopter after his concert in Vancouver. I am not the type to be star-struck but was the first to admit it was all quite surreal - as my favourite song as a youth was "Wish You Were Here".

(For the record, and contrary to rumour, I did not try and force Roger to listen to my acoustic version! I felt his three refusals and threats of a restraining order were a good indication that he was reluctant to hear it).

If you have ever seen Pink Floyd or Mr. Waters in concert, you will know that they are polished and well prepared. This fishing trip was no exception. They sent up a float plane in advance for us to hop from lake to lake to cast lines and check productivity.

We had a crew of experienced guides at their disposal: Avid fisherman and Blackcomb Helicopter founder, Steve Flynn, was the lead reconnaissance and pilot/guide, Peter Nori, was the helicopter pilot extraordinaire. Local knowledge and boat handling was provided by myself and Clint Goyette of Valley Fishing Guides.

Our guests had requested peace and quiet and reserved the entire lodge accordingly. Chef Rebecca, who has cooked in Europe for many dignitaries was up to the task of orchestrating fine dining and we had our sommelier, Andy Butler, sourcing out the finest wines he could muster out of Vancouver.

Roger Waters is an accomplished fly caster and has fished throughout the world. At this time in June, most of the province was washed out (flooding) but the Chilko has the unique distinction of being B.C.'s clearest drainage and the cerulean blue waters did not disappoint. The fishing was not outstanding but good, and our guests were pleased.

The real highlight for me was listening to Roger tell stories about his 40 years in the music industry. He was charming to our staff and thanked each and everyone personally on his departure. To be candid, I hadn't heard much about Mr. Waters over the years but perhaps him being so friendly and gracious doesn't make for much in the way of People Magazine fodder?

I also realized that celebrities must love traveling to places like The Lodge at Chilko so they can just be themselves. They can spend time with their colleagues and friends and not have a camera stuck in their face.

In a way, we are as remote as "The Dark Side of the Moon". But our service is better.

The "New" Lodge at Chilko Lake

ROAM is very pleased to announce our newest development at Chilko Lake.

A joint venture between ROAM and the philanthropic Huston family, the new "Lodge at Chilko Lake" is based out of an upscale private residence perched above Chilko Lake and the Chilko River

.

A one-hour plane ride north of Vancouver or Whistler, British Columbia, “The Lodge” is a formidable log structure with 3 luxurious suites and 5 deluxe timber frame cabins. Arguably one of British Columbia’s most spectacular settings, the lodge serves as an adventure outpost for a variety of world-class activities.

Chilko Lake, the prize jewel of B.C.’s T’sy-los Provincial Park, is in an incredible protected wilderness spanning the circumference of the 55-mile long lake. Hiking trails and mountain biking opportunities abound. This, combined with horseback riding, fishing, sea kayaking, canoeing and rock climbing makes for an unforgettable setting in a wilderness few rarely see.

For rafting enthusiasts, there are two levels of river adventures available. Lodge guests can challenge “Lava Canyon” which offers the longest stretch of commercially navigable whitewater in North America, while others may opt for an exhilarating but family-friendly stretch of rapids flowing 21 miles right from the head of the lake. This stretch is also available by drift boat and can be run late into the autumn to view grizzlies, salmon and bald eagles.

The access to Lava Canyon is extremely remote so we use a vintage 6-wheel-drive military vehicle to locate our gear. However, at the day’s end, our guests get whisked back to the hot tub by helicopter. On the upper section we use a custom-designed drift boat that is ideal for watching bears feed on the two million returning salmon

The Chilko River has been given special classification in recognition of its world-class rainbow trout fishing. Guests can fish with experienced regional guides or on their own. At the headwaters, they can launch float tubes or simply wade out into the river’s clear shallow waters. The lodge is equipped with state of the art Koffler boats and top quality fishing equipment is available to guests not wishing to bring their own.

For those interested in relaxing along with adventure, you’ll be pleased to know The Lodge has an on-site yoga instructor along with a massage therapist. Special “yoga & spa” weeks are also offered where instructors lead morning and afternoon sessions and massage therapists and acupuncture experts provide relief to tired muscles from the day’s activities. Getting a massage while watching bears catch salmon is one of our outrageous experiences you don’t get at a traditional spa.

For the epicureans, The Lodge is also a stop on a popular Wine on the River Series and in 2008 will feature cooking classes with renowned Vancouver chef, Rebecca Dawson. Ms. Dawson was better known for developing menus for the Rain Tree Restaurant in Vancouver and spent years working in Europe for the presidents of Disney and Northwest Airlines. True to its roots, in the Chilcotin no one ever eats alone as the lodge serves up extravagant family style dining in its spectacular dining room with breathtaking views.

The success of this new luxury facility is predicated on being proximal to Vancouver and Whistler but offering a completely private and exclusive experience. Previously an invitation-only private facility, The Huston's have opened up their incredible complex to ROAM guests. To access the lodge, guests can fly in on scheduled charter flights to our airstrip or utilize float plane service from downtown Vancouver or Whistler. The lodge has access to thousands upon thousands of acres of crown land and the park region making the adventure opportunities limitless.

The multi-million dollar development is well timed to take advantage of the growing interest we are seeing in British Columbia. This facility is one of the finest in Western Canada and has been completed with plenty of time for the Winter Olympics arrive to Vancouver. Unlike the rapid expansion and construction going on at Whistler, the Chilcotin countryside has not changed here since it was first plotted on a map so we are enjoying it just the way it is.

holiday@chilkolake.com

Adventure via Cyberspace

After a glorious 6-year marketing stint for the legendary pioneer of river rafting, George Wendt (of O.A.R.S. fame), I have returned to the ROAM office full-time. The reality that I no longer have a plethora of talented support crew has truly sunk in. However, being lean and mean certainly does have its advantages. And besides, with Jennifer (my lovely wife of 16 years) doing all of our books now, I am under the greatest scrutiny ever when it comes to purchasing.

Our recent e-flyer has gone out through cyberspace marking an interesting era. Perhaps calling it an experiment would be a better description – an experiment we are going to watch closely. ROAM has decided to go completely electronic with our marketing and administrative materials. The main reason is the environment. Our responsible travel policy is quite simple. When you book on-line with ROAM we plant a tree at the head of Chilko Lake in your honor. No carbon offset calculations or credits, just oxygen producing green space.

The second reason is efficiency. This first e-flyer has reached 9000 of our past travelers with the click of a mouse. Yes, we still have the dilemma of figuring out how to reach those other 30,000 clients on our mailing list but we are crawling before we walk. And yes, we may need to succumb to an email gathering re-activation mailing but for the most part we are a paperless work place. As of 2007, all ROAM and The Lodge at Chilko Lake trips can be booked 24/7 on-line with live availability.

Ultimately, all this electronic automation is about keeping trip costs down and providing instant access to information. Adventure travel, especially to remote places, is not an inexpensive hobby. With rising fuel costs and the use of helicopters and bush planes to distant locales, ROAM trips are never going be for the masses. Instead we will continue to serve a small group of extraordinary people who recognize the value of a wilderness experience.

Nonetheless, simple things like not producing monster catalogs are a start. Sure enough, the environment is on everyone’s consciousness but in practice it is often another matter. Already after our first email blast, we are getting catalog requests. There's no escaping it. Perusing a coffee table catalog with a glass of your favorite Cabernet has been a rite of passage. While in turn, those responsible for producing these massive catalogs have darkly intuited how easily their readers might be turned into prey by photographs whose power insulted the intelligence and contravened any notions of free will: exotic scenes with clear skies. Readers who would have been capable of scepticism and prudence in other areas of their lives reverted back in contact with these elements to a primordial innocence and optimism. Ahhh…the good old days when marketing was just simple emotion evoking trickery.

An unnamed luxury biking company I once worked for spent in excess of 2 million dollars publishing and delivering their show-piece catalog. It was so attractive you were reluctant to thumb through its pages. Well if you consider they do about 5000 travelers a year, you can figure whom the cost is being passed off to. Back to my point. What was my point? …

Our move to electronic marketing is not self-righteous but rather practical and appropriate for ROAM. E-marketing, for the time being, provides us a viable and environmentally friendly solution. It gets you the most current information and keeps trips costs down.

That is until AOL’s (or “the like”) spam filters clog all access except through their pay per click ads. Until then, please “opt in” and we’ll keep you posted.

Wildwater, desert dreams and the Canadian inferiority complex

The Chilko-Chilcotin-Fraser river corridor is one of North America’s best-kept secrets - and not for good reason.

The Chilko River features the longest stretch of commercially operated whitewater in the North America. In fact, only the Futaleufu in South America and the Klinaklini (the Chilko’s nearby cousin) in British Columbia can rival it for continuous excitement.

The Chilcotin offers a relaxed pace while it wends its way through the Chilcotin grasslands before squeezing back into some dramatic granite canyons above Big Creek. The largest rapids on the chain are on the Chilcotin as you challenge Farwell and Big John canyons before oozing out onto the massive volumes of the Fraser.

Although a handful of whitewater enthusiasts and “B Grade” movie buffs may recognize the White Mile as home to a tragic series of deaths in 1986, the Chilko has never really achieved the notoriety.

ROAM outfitted more trips in 2006 than all the other Chilko outfitters combined. This made up a massive total of approximately 300 paddlers. Yes, I said 300. Despite being a perfectly circuitous waterway - the Chilko flowing into the Chilcotin, which flows into the Fraser - the Chilko River system is still in relative obscurity.

It’s all a bit perplexing.

People wait in line for years and often decades to run a trip down the Colorado River through Grand Canyon. A little closer to the home, and often compared to the Chilko by people “in the know”, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho sees more than 10,000 visitors annually.

The Chilko has impressive water from May through September, while the Middle Fork volumes peak for a few weeks in June. Part of the Frank Church Wilderness of No Return, touted as one of the USA’s best protected wilderness areas, the Middle Fork has lodges, airstrips and no shortage of demand.

Now that’s not to say the Middle Fork is not an amazing river trip – because it is. It offers visitors, 100 miles and 100 rapids - nothing to sneer at – not to mention hot springs, nice walks and cool native art. And the Main Salmon features warm late season waters and big volume rapids with sandy beaches. Its just that the Chilko, which is a puddle-jumper flight from Vancouver and has high water all season, has been lying quietly for three decades of commercial rafting history, waiting its proverbial turn.

Perhaps it is just part of the Canadian culture to simply ignore the fact we have one of the best river trips in the world. Or maybe we are too polite or even afraid to speak up. Not even Tourism British Columbia – who many years ago chastised me for sending them photos (from the Chilcotin) that they thought were from Arizona – has failed to recognize the significance of Chilko River or Chilko Lake for that matter. I guess they were still trying to shake the nasty Mounted Police stereotype that plagued us for years. As it turns out - the headwaters of the Chilko River has an old Mounties outpost!

So...maybe we’ll never reach our “true potential”, but I am one Canadian who is willing to speak up but just as happy to enjoy it the way it is.

The World’s Best River trip remains in the shadows…

This is a great title for this entry since the Klinaklini River cuts through the heart of the Coast Mountain ranges and wraps itself around BC’s highest mountain – Mt. Waddington. Measured at more than 13,000 feet, the vertical relief from sea level to peak is extremely dramatic. Since ROAM completed a first descent of the river in 1997 and a year later pioneering commercial expeditions, the Klinaklini River remains very much in the shadows.

It could be argued that the price tag of such an adventure, $6495 US per person, makes it cost prohibitive for most but when you factor in the outlay of time and money to get to trips like the Firth, Alsek or Tatshenshini, the Klinaklini is right on par and offers incredible value. The river has better whitewater than the rivers mentioned above, equally spectacular scenery and even includes a day of heli-hiking in a location second to none. The weather is definitely more hospitable than Alaska and it is easily accessible out of Vancouver, British Columbia saving at least 2 travel days.

In nutshell, the Klinaklini has it all - big rapids (that can be walked if need be), high grizzly bear populations, moose that watch you (unaffected by our presence) from the shoreline, packs of wolves, glaciers that come straight down to the river’s edge, exciting float plane rides in and out of the river valley, a night at a remote wilderness lodge (Chilko Lake), heli-hiking on a wildflower covered plateau, campsites surrounded by waterfalls and glaciers, and last but most perplexing… no crowds. Less than 200 people have traveled down the river and we still cannot explain why?

The Lodge at Chilko Lake - have we all gone soft

Well, if gauging the number of Cialis email solicitations I get, perhaps we have. But seriously, I am interested to hear about our customers' perception about adventure.

Recently ROAM took over the operations of what used to be called Chilko Lake Resort. The move was in recognition of the fact that our core audience of "baby boomers" are moving further away from camping. Expedition trips like ours have always been a niche business, however, with the fastest growing segment of our industry being lodge-based multi-sports we felt the time to act was now. This combined with a stagnating youth clientele, the move made even more sense.

Has our society become soft? Or is this simply a recognition that adventurers like to have a hot shower and a comfortable bed at the end of the day? I think it may be a combination of both but most importantly, I do not think anyone wishing to go to a place like Chilko is sacrificing the adventure end of their vacation time.

With absolutely mind blowing day trip experiences - rafting Lava Canyon, learning to fly fish for world class trout, hiking Mt. Tullin for a breathtaking view of a 55-mile long glacial lake, riding single track through pine scented forests, sea kayaking in total solitude - returning to a gourmet meal and an impressive wine lists sounds like a good idea to me