Travel Alpine vistas Each flight and hike brought new thrills. Our jaws dropped as the helicopter whirled above alpine firs climbing up cathedral peaks. “Wow!” exclaimed one passenger, as we crested knife-edged ridges and swirled above rumpled white glaciers. “Who has to go to the Alps, when there’s such spectacular scenery here in Canada?” Our IMAX-view flight ended in a Sound of Music meadow called International Basin. We exited and heli-huddled again, until the helicopter disappeared over the peaks into the periwinkle sky. Standing up, we surveyed our surroundings. “No trails!” noted one hiker. “No bugs!” added another, as we ascended the yo-yo slope to the summit. The view from the top took our breath away. In one direction, mountains and glaciers extended for as far as our eyes could see. “Look at that lake,” said one hiker. “Have you ever seen such an intense blue?” The hikers below us looked like small ants, swallowed up by the immense landscape. We walked down to the sapphire lake. Behind it, mountains impaled the indigo sky like broken molars. “Are we dreaming?” we asked each other. Stunning! Magnificent! Dazzling! There weren’t enough adjectives in the dictionary to describe the scene. Descending to the treeline, we ended our hike near a tuft of fir trees, which sprouted like green disheveled hair on a punk rocker’s head. We inhaled the pine-scented air and felt deeply satisfied. Postcard-pretty picnic When it was lunchtime, our guide radioed the helicopter pilot to airlift us to a picturesque turquoise lake. We soaked up the mesmerizing scenery as we munched on sandwiches, fruit and cookies. “Talk about a picnic with a view,” said one hiker, as he basked in the sun after lunch. Other hikers enjoyed a quick, postprandial heli-nap. Our pilot then transported us over granite spires flanking rivers of marshmallow snow to an untouched area. We hoisted our packs and gingerly picked our way over loose shale to a glacier.The shale tinkled like wind chimes beneath our hiking boots. Waterfalls created a train-like roar. Some of us climbed over jagged crevasses to peer into a baby blue ice cave. Others fished out pie-sized icebergs from the café au lait water below the calving glacier. To return us to the lodge, the helicopter corkscrewed out of the glacial basin and over snowfields that swirled like thick meringue. Photographing sapphire lake, mountains and glaciers in International Basin Heli-napping Hikers enjoy picnic by turquoise lake 18 | www.snowbirds.org
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