Your car lurches to a halt. A monstrous avalanche has run across the road, blocking your route. Suddenly, your family is stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. It’s dark. What are you going to do?
The Leach family faced this situation on a late March evening while visiting from Maine on a ski holiday. Fortunately, a pair of headlights appeared in their rearview mirror, and a little Monashees magic was about to unfold.
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE AT CMH MONASHEES
Jeff Relph is the Assistant Area Manager and a Guide at CMH Monashees, a heli-skiing lodge in British Columbia, Canada. He was on his way back home when he saw a car pulled off to the side of the Mica Creek Highway.
“I’d left the lodge just after dinnertime, and I saw a car flashing their brakelights, so I stopped. And they told me that an avalanche had blocked the road,” Jeff recounted.
“I drove past and saw that a size 4 avalanche had crossed the road. I pulled back up to their car to check in on them and ask them about their plan for the evening. When they said they planned to sleep in their car, I told them I worked at a lodge up the road and we’d happily make room for them.”
The lodge typically only hosts privately booked heli-skiing guests, but this unusual situation called for an exception.
Jeff got on his radio to let the lodge team know what had happened so they’d have time to get organized before he arrived back with the Leach family in tow. After getting the radio call, Jess Bell (who goes by Pie), CMH Monashees Assistant Lodge Manager, hopped into action.
AT HOME IN A HELI-SKIING LODGE
“It was pretty late. The team quickly got a room ready for this stranded family. When they arrived, we helped them get settled and sat down with them.”
“They hadn’t eaten for a few hours, so the culinary team whipped them up some food, including a few scoops of ice cream for their sons. Too many treats for that time of night? Maybe,” Pie smiled.
For the Leach family, this was quite the turn of events.
Our youngest son had gone from tears in the back of our car to a bowl of chocolate ice cream in one hand and a sandwich in the other, all in this wonderful lodge!
“Pie greeted us with hugs, beer and wine. We were welcomed with open arms and treated like family.”
After a cozy night’s sleep, and both highways still closed, the Leach family spent the day at the lodge. They got a front row seat to the inner workings of a heli-skiing lodge, with the young boys getting to see the laundry rooms and how the kitchen operates to feed so many hungry heli-skiers.
A definite highlight was getting to attend the helicopter safety briefing with pilot Nadia Bosman, including a tour of a legendary Bell 212 helicopter.
GETTING BACK TO THE AIRPORT
Eventually, Jeff got word that the highways were going to open. With a flight to catch, the Leach family got packed and prepped for the convoy behind him. It was, for all involved, a bittersweet moment.
“We honestly felt luckier than they did,” Pie said, smiling again.
“They were just lovely people, and they created such a connection with our team. They thanked us so many times, but we were just happy to have their enthusiasm and energy around the lodge. It was a pleasure to help them and make sure they were well looked after.”
When the time finally came for wheels to roll down the first of two newly reopened highways, the lodge team had one last surprise for the Leach family.
The staff gathered around to present the younger son with an Employee of the Year certificate for the time he spent keeping the team company as they moved through their workdays.
A big honour, to be sure, and not one that he took lightly. Melissa told us that her son brought the certificate with him to school so he could show his classmates and tell them about the adventure he’d had in Canada.
A HAPPY ENDING
All’s well that ends well, and Jeff summed it up perfectly.
“The real story here is just that we just did what all humans should and most would do, and that is help out others in need.”
Jeff, who had been trying to get home when he encountered the Leach family on the side of the road, told us how much the visit meant to the CMH team.
“It is really nice to have families around, especially when so many of us as staff are away from our own families. They were so appreciative, they never took anything for granted. And because they’re great people, they instantly integrated with the staff and other guests alike.”
Melissa shared a similar sentiment.
“We were truly blessed to meet them all and will always hold a special place in our hearts for how they welcomed us and treated us like family. We hope to see them all again one day!”
That feeling is mutual.
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