Some people find escape on a heli-skiing trip. Others find thrill.
On a trip to CMH Monashees in 2003, Candace Kramer and Drew Prell found love.
Candace and Drew met at the Monashees, but their individual ski journeys began decades earlier.
Candace learned to ski when she was 10 years old on the hard and fast slopes of the East Coast. Born and raised in Michigan, she was always dreaming of that famed West Coast powder. As soon as she graduated high school, Candace drove straight to Colorado where she spent a season at Breckenridge Ski Resort.
“I worked at the ski resort, and I remember skiing powder in tears my first time,” she reminisced. “It’s a different type of skiing.”
That was the start of Candace’s lifelong addiction to powder.
“That dream goes on; after you go to Colorado, you want to go to Canada, trying to find the dry snow, and powder, and bigger mountains.”
She eventually found herself managing a ski shop in Portland, which was an industry few women were in at the time. While heading to ski shows each year, she met Fred Noble, who was part of CMH’s sales team. He introduced her to the sport of heli-skiing and it wasn’t long before Candace was booked on her first trip to CMH Kootenay.
Drew on the other hand lived in California, and didn’t discover his passion for skiing until his mid-thirties, when he was searching for hobbies that he could share with his son.
“We started skiing when my son was about 6 or 7 years old,” remembered Drew. “We lived in San Diego at the time, and we drove to Mammoth Mountain in California. He was my motivation. I had never skied, so he and I learned to ski together.”
A couple of decades later, Drew found himself at a ski fair in Portland, Oregon, where he struck up a conversation with Fred Noble. With little convincing, Drew was on his way to his first heli-skiing trip to CMH Galena in 1999. Then his second, his third, his fourth…
“Early on, I had a couple years where I did 3 or 4 or 5 trips,” Drew said.
Even though Drew and Candace each travelled on multiple CMH trips during the late 1990s, it wasn’t until a few years later that their paths eventually crossed.
Following each other’s tracks
In March 2003, CMH was unveiling their newest destination, CMH Monashees; a tenure boasting steep terrain, deep powder, and some of the best tree skiing in British Columbia.
A group of Fred’s clients had booked out the lodge for the week, and Candace and Drew were both part of those who got to experience the debut of this new destination. The group, united by their ties to Fred, quickly got to know one another and bonded over meals, skiing, and stories of previous heli-adventures.
Over the following days, Candace started to notice Drew. She felt drawn to him for his quiet and kind nature, his athleticism, and their shared interests.
“He liked to talk about wine and traveling, and I thought, ‘Oh, I’d like to travel with this guy and see the world together,’” Candace remembered. “And he wasn’t Mr. Macho. He was looking after the whole group and making sure everyone was having fun. It wasn’t just about him. He was a gentleman”
One day during the trip, Candace and Drew found themselves skiing in an area with challenging springtime conditions. To help everyone navigate down to the helicopter pick-up, their guide broke through the crust, encouraging the skiers to trail behind in his tracks. Drew was first to follow.
“In order to keep from falling, I was skiing right in the guide’s tracks, right behind the guide,” Drew recalled. “Every time he’d turn, I’d turn right in his tracks. And after a while there was nobody behind us.”
Nobody, that is, but Candace.
“I look back, and there’s Candace. She’s right there. The first thing I thought was, ‘Wow, this lady’s pretty cool.’ She was athletic, and she skied probably better than anyone else in our group—besides me of course,” Drew joked.
Impressed by her tenacity, Drew turned to Candace when they were walking back to the lodge on their last day of heli-skiing. Skis in hand, he asked a question that would alter the course of their lives.
“Drew suggested we meet up in Portland and share some wine,” Candace said. “We did, and he made me a duck dinner with amazing wine, and we booked our next heli trip together. Meanwhile, Fred was quite delighted when he heard about the hook up, and with a twinkle in his eye, said he knew we would hit it off.”
Fast forward to January 2004, and Fred was now the guest: at Candace and Drew’s wedding.
“And the rest is history,” Drew said.
Come for the skiing, stay for the family
25 years later, Candace and Drew refer to CMH as their second home, and the guides, lodge staff and fellow guests as their second family.
“We come back every year to celebrate our anniversary, and our love,” Candace said.
Since that fateful trip to the Monashees in 2003, the duo have heli-skied at almost every CMH destination, hardly ever missing a season. Now both Million Footers, you’ll find Candace and Drew donning their coveted Million Foot suits on every heli-skiing trip.
“Reaching the Million Foot club was my goal in 2018,” recounted Candace. She wanted to mark the special occasion at CMH Bugaboos alongside one of her favourite Area Managers and guides, Dave Cochrane, who is known to celebrate the achievement in entertaining ways.
“It was quite an achievement and a feeling of accomplishment when I put the jacket on.”
That jacket is more than just an article of clothing for Candace and Drew. To them, it’s a symbol of an extended family.
“The CMH logo is so small and subtle, yet noticed wherever we travel,” said Candace, who remembers a time when they were hiking in the Dolomites and took respite in a refugio. The owner noticed their jackets and asked if they had skied in Canada. “He proceeded to tell us that his father used to guide there, and he met his mother there. The stories swirled of his father’s history guiding at CMH. Small world.”
It’s those types of connections, plus the friendships they’ve created with both guests and staff, that the couple returns to CMH for.
“It’s been a great social thing for us,” Drew said, adding that they now have a group of friends they like to coordinate their trips with, reuniting at the lodges each year. “We’ve met people from all over the world. That happens with all the skiers up there. It’s a very special thing.”
What’s their secret?
Candace and Drew laugh their way through dinners at the lodge with a palpable joie de vivre. They pick each other up when they fall on the slopes, and often make time to escape for a romantic mid-week spa date to recoup while the lodge is quiet. Together they live each day to the fullest, connected by their outlook on life, their thirst for adventure, and their passion for skiing.
“It’s something we can share. We both love the sport, and it keeps us active,” Drew said. “In the middle of the summer when it’s hot and humid, we plan a ski trip. Or two or three or four.”
At home, they have a small workout room with posters and photos from their ski trips to encourage themselves to stay in shape for the next CMH getaway.
It’s not always easy adventuring in tandem, as anyone who’s traveled with their partner knows. But when you’ve done it for as long as Candace and Drew have, you’re bound to learn a thing or two.
“Adventure travel as couple means checking in with the other daily, and allowing each other space and time to recover,” Candace said. “When out in the field, be sure you partner is hydrated and has a snack! Do they need to go and rest while you stay out for a few more runs?”
It’s this kindness and thoughtfulness that has kept their relationship strong throughout the years. Remaining curious has also helped, Candace said.
“We change up the format of our trips to CMH. One year we stayed in Banff and skied the local hill to warm up. Another year we drove the Powder Highway, visiting smaller ski resorts. This year we are finally going to do our European winter holiday, skiing Zermatt and connecting with CMH friends, creating more memories and sharing our love of winter adventure skiing.”
If you don’t do it this year, you’ll be one year older when you do.
Words by Warren Miller that Candace and Drew live by
Back to the Bugaboos
Having spent the past two decades exploring the full gamut of CMH lodges, the couple now find themselves returning to their favourite, CMH Bugaboos. It’s where they’ve become familiar with everything from the runs to the history, even down to the books in the lodge’s museum (Candace recommends Deep Powder & Steep Rock by Chic Scott).
They’ve made endless memories throughout the years at the place where heli-skiing was born. They often recall the times they shared with one of CMH’s founders, the late Leo Grillmair, who used to greet them at the helipad and tell tales of the past over dinners and card games.
More recently, the couple celebrated Drew’s 80th birthday there, surrounded by all his children.
“All our family are skiers. Everybody skis—even the grandkids are all skiing,” Drew said with a smile.
They cherish the moments they’ve made with their children at the Bugaboos, and time spent on the slopes with their grandkids, passing down their love for the sport as they teach them to ski.
Millions down, millions to go
Candace and Drew’s love story started as a CMH trip, a ski track, and an invitation to dinner.
Decades later, it extends far beyond that to a large group of friends who feel like family, tied together by the common thread of a passion for heli-skiing.
Do you have your own CMH love story? We invite you to share it in the comments, below.
Comments
Great story about Candace and Drew which I happen to know. We met in the Bugaboos many years ago. I am one of ski buddies they would like to ski with in the Alps.