Upward Bound

Soaring high above the Rockies was a vacation highlight for this Maritime girl

- Desiree Anstey

My husband Terry and I travelled from Prince Edward Island to Banff last February for a week’s stay. We originally planned a helicopter tour departing Canmore, Alta., on the Wednesday. After checking the weather reports and seeing that it was meant to rain and cloud over, I rescheduled for Monday morning. Monday dawned as a cold but cloudless morning— perfect for flying over the Rockies. Once aboard the helicopter, I was illuminated by the sun as it peeked over the mountains and warmed the inside of the small vessel. There was a loud hum that broke the silence of the snow-capped peaks as the spinning blades sliced through the thin air. I caught a glimpse of my breath in the light and then it disappeared.

This was something I had wanted to do for a long time, and it turned out to be everything I expected and more. As we soared over the Rockies, the peaks were shrouded in glamour and mystery.

It was the first time Terry and I had been in a helicopter and he was slightly nervous so I reached for his hand. But this was the way the Rockies were meant to be seen—the ice-fluted faces, the howl of wind across razor-sharp edges and the adrenaline rush that follows. It was a humbling feeling being out here on that crisp and clear morning.

The Rockies, spread across the horizon, were like nothing we had seen before. From that angle, the mountains dwarfed everything around them. I craned my neck to see Mount Assiniboine, known as the “Matterhorn of the Canadian Rockies,” which towers high above the continental divide, and is surrounded by glaciers and ice falls.