Heli announced this week that it has closed on the purchase of Great Canadian Heli-Skiing and Heather Mountain Lodge located half-way between Golden and Revelstoke, BC at the East gate of Glacier National Park.
The lodge and ski tenure will continue to operate as the leader in boutique heli-skiing and summer gateway to Canada’s Glacier National Park.
Andy Culp and Brock Strasbourger, founders of heli.life, both are self-described as “recovering bankers”. With thousands of established relationships and very powerful customer insights it became clear to Culp and Strasbourger that they should vertically integrate their business. “We evaluated a number of opportunities in the last couple years but we couldn’t find the “right” moment until now. This made too much sense from both a strategic and investment thesis perspective,” says Strasbourger of their new purchase.
“We are selling a business full of Best Day Evers,” declared Greg and Maaike Porter, owners for the past 23 years. “We have surrounded ourselves with guests, employees, partners, and now new owners that share that vision. We look forward to working with them over the next year as we help with the transition.”
When asked about what this purchase means for the future of Great Canadian Heli-Skiing and Heli, Culp replied, “Very little will change. We have been in this industry for long enough to know that it’s the lodge staff and guides at these operations that make them so special and successful. We told Maaike and Greg from the beginning that we want the entire team to stay on and we feel very strongly about respecting the legacy of not just Great Canadian Heli-Skiing, but the entire community of operators who we think of as friends and peers.”
To summarize how it feels to have secured the Great Canadian Heli-Skiing asset, Culp paused and answered, “Interior British Columbia is where the forefathers of heli-skiing pioneered the sport – it is where the best and most reliable conditions are with the most diverse and interesting terrain. To be entrusted with one of the greatest trophies on the planet is a true honor.”
About Great Canadian Heli-Skiing and Heather Mountain Lodge:
Great Canadian Heli-Skiing was founded in 1988, in prime heli-skiing real estate. It operates in the legendary Purcell and Selkirk mountain ranges, just north of the birthplace of heli-skiing. Its neighbor, Rogers Pass, a ski touring mecca is one of the snowiest places in Canada. The company pioneered “small group” and “unlimited vertical” heli-skiing. In 1996, the classically Canadian timber-framed Heather Mountain Lodge was built as a luxurious staging for winter heli-skiing, and summer adventures in Canada’s undiscovered Glacier National Park.
