CMH Personalities

Powder Personality:
Todd Guyn, Assistant Area Manager, CMH Revelstoke

Todd started working with CMH in 1995 and became assistant manager in Revelstoke in 2007. He has guided predominantly in CMH Revelstoke in the winter months and spends most of his summers guiding in the Canadian Rockies.

Todd was raised in southern Alberta where he was first introduced to the outdoors as a cattle wrestler and rock climber. He attended Capilano College in Vancouver and earned a diploma in Outdoor Recreation Management. He spent the next 7 years developing his rock climbing skills and lifestyle before pursuing his career as a Mountain Guide. Todd obtained his ACMG Mountain Guide certification in 1997.

He is also active in the ACMG (Association of Canadian Mountain Guides) and is presently the Technical Director. Todd spends time each year training and examining new guides. In the off-season, he can be found traveling Europe, North American and Asia in pursuit of the ultimate rock climbing locations.

Powder Personality:
Rob Whelan, Assistant Area Manager, CMH Kootenay

Rob grew up in the foothills of Alberta around Pincher Creek, and started skiing when he was 16. In 1981 he began working as a ski patroller and avalanche technician at a small ski area in the Rockies and spent summers working as an avalanche technician in New Zealand and then as an initial attack fire fighter in BC. In 1988 he started guiding for Kootenay Heli-Skiing, which became CMH Kootenay in 1996. Rob is a member of the Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA) Technical Committee and served on the CAA Board of Directors.

In recent years, Rob has been supervising the maintenance and monitoring of CMH's fleet of remote fuel tanks. He gets a kick out of a job that requires both a laptop computer and a 36" pipe wrench on the same job. Rob is passionate about the skiing at Kootenay, and feels that the Powder Max program is the best skiing value on the planet - the pilots and guides love the freedom and flexibility, and the terrain is second to none.

The highlight of Rob's winter is getting passed on to his son Jon, whose favorite line on the slopes is "C'mon Dad, What are you waiting for?"

Powder Personality:
Dave Gauley, Steep Skiing Camps & Ass't Area Manager, CMH Cariboos

A Top-Ranked North American Skier!
CMH guide and Cariboos assistant manager Dave Gauley was a professional extreme skier for 10 years, during which time he traveled all over the world in search of first descents. When he became a certified guide, he moved to Chamonix, France, where he guided steep skiing, as well as doing most of the classic lines. At CMH, he started at the Cariboos, and then toured around, working at most areas. Dave played an integral role in mapping out much of the terrain at Silvertip when it first opened.

Dave will be leading the our Steep Skiing Camps, taking place in April. Read more about Dave on The Heli-Ski Blog. Note that Dave was nominated one of North America's top 50 skiers by Powder Magazine. In their words:

Powder Personality:
Dan Griffith, Mountain Guide

Heli-Ski Guide by day, world-record setter by days-off!

Daniel Griffith, a guide in the Monashees, made Canada, the Canadian Alpine community, and CMH proud by setting an incredible world record last year. Dan summited the highest peaks on each of the seven continents within 187 days, which put him in the Guinness Book of World Records. This record has since been broken, but the achievement remains impressive. Another notable achievement: at 55, Dan became the oldest Canadian to have conquered Mount Everest.

Dan's quest to climb the highest peaks began on May 24, 2006, on the summit of Mount Everest at 6:30 a.m. (Nepal) and was completed on November 27, 2006, on the top of Mount Vinson at 4:20 p.m. (Antarctica). He climbed three of the seven summits in record time with his 26-year-old son Luke -- also a CMH guide! -- and was joined on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa by his entire family.

Dan has been a true mentor for hundreds of young men and women who aspire to do great things in the mountains. He would be the last one to boast about his achievements and the first to encourage others to reach out for their dreams.

•      * Mount Everest, Nepal, May 24, 2006
•      * Mount McKinley, Alaska, June 15, 2006
•      * Mount Elbrus, Russia, July 4, 2006
•      * Carstensz Pyramid,Indonesia, September 24, 2006
•      * Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, October 3, 2006
•      * Mount Aconcagua, Argentina, October 20, 2006
•      * Mount Vinson, Antarctica, November 27, 2006

For Dan's complete bio, please visit his Web site, www.MountainAdventure.com.

Peak Personality:
Peter Macpherson, Full Mountain Guide

Peter grew up on the east coast of Canada in Newfoundland and New Brunswick. From a very young age he was drawn to beautiful landscapes. His family loved to explore wild places and were passionate about all thing related to the ocean. Peter felt a calling to something else and decided to explore the world before going on to university to fulfill his interest in history.

After graduating with a BA in History and Political Science from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Peter headed west. It was his time in the Coastal Ranges in and around Vancouver, British Columbia that Peter found his calling. He went on to receive a diploma in Adventure Tourism from Thompson Rivers University and then turned his focus towards becoming a mountain guide. Peter began his new studies as a summer naturalist in our most northern area, the Cariboos in 1997. It took Peter just over four years to become a full guide and a member of the European renowned IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations), the highest professional designation attainable and recognized throughout the world.

Peter stepped into a management role in 2007 and continues to share his love of wild mountains places, history and discovery with guests of all ages and abilities. His easy going manner and his Newfie upbringing (even outside of Canada it's okay to say this) makes everyone that Peter guides feel like they are a long lost family member being welcomed home...in the lodge and in the mountains.

Peter currently lives with his partner Carole, a bright entrepreneur who shares the love of mountains and her art with Peter, making their home in the mountain town of Canmore (just east of Banff National Park), in Alberta, Canada. When not in the mountains, you will likely find him in the kitchen or helping Carole with her business.

Peak Personality:
John Mellis, Full Mountain Guide

John Mellis is a born-and-raised mountain lover. Hailing from the west-coast of Canada he spent winter weekends from the age of two skiing at Whistler/ Blackcomb and eventually moved to Lake Louise when he was 17. After a several grueling years guiding friends and clients in the Columbia and Rocky Mountains he passed his guides exam and joined CMH in 1992. After 10 years as Assistant Area Manager, John became Manager of the Cariboo Lodge in 2007.

John has been involved in the Heli-Hiking program at the Cariboo Lodge since 1994. When you mention 'climbing' to John you see a certain sparkle light his eyes and you know that you're in the right hands. Although he loves to take guests of all abilities on hikes and walks, it is when he's got a couple of keen spirits tied on to his rope and a couple thousand feet of vertical above and below him that he thinks "Man, I love my job!".

This summer you'll find John splitting his time between the Bobbie Burns Lodge and Bugaboo Lodge. We asked him how he felt about escaping from the Cariboos this year and he said "I'm excited to take a crack at the Via Ferrata and to see what Bruce and his crew have created. And it's been a while since I've seen those famous spires in the Bugs!"

Peak Personality:
Lyle Grisedale, CMH Hiking Guide

A 30 yr veteran of the ski industry (instructor, sales rep, entrepreneur, CMH Heli-Ski guest), Lyle spent his summers working for Parks Canada and the BC Provincial parks system. One notable summer found Lyle on his own in the newly created Top of the World Park for four months creating a detailed species inventory with a pack full of textbooks and a keen interest in natural history.

After a short stint in the big city (Vancouver) Lyle realized his heart truly was in the mountains so he decided to take a drive. Well, that drive lead him to Banff and he offered to assist with the shutdown of the Bugaboo shop at the end of summer 1999. That short ‘working vacation’ led to a massive career change and Lyle is now the Manager of the Retail & Ski shop in Revelstoke each winter.

But it is in summer that Lyle springs into action as a Heli-Hiking guide in the Bobbie Burns and Bugaboos. Lyle still draws upon his learnings from that summer at Top of the World and shares his passion for botany, biology, history and FUN with his hiking guests. Also a keen photographer, he is often creeping along the ground in an effort to get the perfect wildflower shot. Of his new career as a Heli-Hiking guide, Lyle claims that it is the ‘best job on earth!’

Peak Personality:
Carl Trescher, Mountain Guide

Carl started working for CMH as a ski guide in our Bobbie Burns area in 2000. He fulfilled the demanding requirements to acheive full guide status with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG), and continued to become a certified International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA) guide in 2004.

You've heard of the strong, silent type. Carl is just that -- sort of. His wit and unassuming ways make for a GREAT story or two! And a deep passion for the mountains is something Carl shares with all CMH guests.

Since 2002, Carl and the team at the Bobbie Burns have been shaping, molding and expanding the Adventure Trail: zip lines, bridges over raging rivers and -- new for 2008 -- a via ferrata system of ladders and bridges on Mt. Nimbus. CMH sent Carl to Europe to become certified by the tradesmen and builders of via ferrata routes in Italy and Austria. Today, Mt. Nimbus is a delight for all adventurers thanks to Carl and his touch. And speaking of touch: when you're exploring the mountains with Carl, ask him about his past career as a concert pianist!

Peak Personality:
Duane Dukart, CMH Hiking Guide

How does a farm boy from the prairies end up as a hiking guide in the mountains? Well, take one farm boy and relocate him to New Zealand with a mountain-loving family at the base of Mt. Hut and instill a passion for ski touring and mountaineering.

Upon returning to Canada, and with a couple of mountaineering courses under his belt, Duane’s first guiding job was with a group of young offenders on a three month mountain immersion. It was during this time that Duane came to understand the true power of the mountains and nature to heal and nurture all. Years later, Duane still draws on these early experiences of empathizing, interpreting and sharing the passions daily with his guests.

Underlining all Duane's actions is his commitment to doing things at CMH as environmentally sustainably as possible. As a member of CMH’s Second Nature Committee, he is constantly pushing the envelope on things like recycling, intelligent purchasing, composting and energy conservation.

You can find Duane splitting his time each summer between the Adamants, Monashees and Bugaboos, where he passionately shares information and personal anecdotes about wildlife encounters. Be forewarned, some of these stories are a little hard to believe, but Duane swears they are true!

Peak Personality:
Kellie Erwin, CMH Hiking Guide

Kellie joined CMH in 2005 as a hiking guide in the Bugaboos after making the move north from the lower 48. With an impressive climbing history that includes four trips to Mount Everest, hundreds of first ascents of rock and alpine routes in North America not to mention the first Nordic ski traverse of Denali, she is sure to inspire you and infect you with her passion for these special mountain places.

Before moving to Golden, BC Kellie served on the Board of the AMGA (American Mountain Guide Association) and assisted in the development of their ski and accreditation programs. Kellie's work in adventure documentary cinematography includes the CBS film “Footprint on Everest” and the documentary "Everest at the Millenium".

Let Kellie guide you through the Bugaboos this summer and share her passion for a place that has been calling her name for close to 30 years.

Peak Personality:
Paul Lazarski, CMH Hiking Guide

With a keen interest in human history and a personal desire to not only teach, but to learn, Paul is one of our guides that really makes you stop and think about how we fit into this particular place in time and space. Paul’s love for guiding in the Bugaboos grew from his past experiences as a nature photographer on numerous worldwide expeditions. As a passionate teacher of photography he lead groups to exotic locations such as Iceland, Greenland, the Arctic and over 40 states and provinces and eventually, to the Bugaboos. His immediate connection with this special place convinced him to commit full-time to the life of a Heli-Hiking guide at the Bugaboos.

Paul is a great conversationalist with interests ranging from medieval archery, scuba diving to military history. Guests who have hiked with Paul leave the Bugaboos with a sense of wonder, awe and humility that comes from sharing nature together.