Tom and Trudy Chamberlin defy the adage of ‘no friends on a powder day.’
They’ve skied more than 10 million feet together at CMH, nearly turn for turn.
The couple has spent a lifetime in the mountains together, all over the world. Through their travels, they’ve found that the place they love to ski the most is at CMH Cariboos.
If you’ve visited the Cariboo Lodge in the past decade, you’ve likely encountered this memorable duo, or perhaps you’ve seen their jigsaw puzzle table under the window at the end of the second floor hallway.
Tom and Trudy have been CMH guests since 1986, and while they’ve certainly acquired an impressive amount of vertical feet during their 39 years of heli-skiing, they might be the only guests who’ve done it foot by foot, trip by trip.
“We’ve been together 24/7 for 48 years,” Trudy said.
They do everything as a team and have never left each other’s side. Skiing is no exception; when they’re out skiing and one of them is ready to return to the lodge, they both go in, no questions asked.
Finding a foundation
The couple first met in Germany in 1975. Their paths crossed when Tom, an American orthodontist, was stationed for two years in Germany, Trudy’s home country, where she worked as a lab technician. They grew close, and when Tom’s time in Europe came to an end, Trudy accompanied him back to the U.S.
There they ran his orthodontic practice together in Massachusetts and built a life together that allowed them to follow a shared, growing passion for skiing.
Tom and Trudy had been sharpening their skills with a ski instructor in Austria long before skiing with CMH was on their radar.
“Back in ‘78 there was a guide who was a top ski instructor. He didn’t really want to see us because we were so bad,” Trudy recalled.” Eventually, he kind of liked us because we tried so hard that we couldn’t even walk. He taught us to read the terrain and that really made us capable of going to CMH.”
Their first trip
Armed with the skills they’d developed and convinced by a friend at Deer Valley, Utah, to give CMH a try, Tom and Trudy took their Austrian ethos to the Bugaboo Lodge in April of 1986 for their first trip. Coincidentally, it landed on ‘Nostalgia Week’, an informal annual gathering of longtime CMH guests.Trudy laughed thinking back to her initial impressions of the guests during that first trip.
“We were the young people at that time! They were warming up in the morning, not drinking a lot, stretching at night, and we thought, ‘They don’t really have any fun.’”
What Tom and Trudy didn’t know then, was that they would become hooked on heli-skiing and would soon be taking multiple trips to CMH each season. And decades later, they’d be the ones warming up and stretching to secure plenty more years of skiing.
Hooked by the hospitality
It is common for guests to comment on ‘the CMH touch,’ or the family feel, of the hospitality and professionalism they encounter on a trip. There’s something to be said about the origin of that. Austrian founders Hans Gmoser and Leo Grillmair infused a sense of European hospitality into the foundation of CMH from the beginning, leaving a lasting impression.
That first trip for Tom and Trudy took place in April, and the two weren’t sure what to expect in terms of conditions. “We had an unbelievable time,” Trudy said. “Tom was more or less hooked, but I liked it a lot because it was like coming home. In earlier times it was strictly a European experience.”
The Chamberlains were lucky enough to have spent time at the lodges with Hans and Margaret Gmoser, along with Leo and Lynne Grillmair, to experience CMH as a family operation.
“It was just unbelievable, because they put their whole heart and soul into it,” remarked Trudy.
Loyal for life
CMH left an impression on the Chamberlains, cementing an annual commitment. One yearly trip quickly became two, and since retiring in the iconic ski village of St. Anton, Austria, the duo has been making themselves at home at the Cariboos Lodge for a full month-long stint each winter.
They are known for their strict routine not dissimilar to the one they questioned during Nostalgia Week of 1986. You’ll find them stretching, soaking, and doing jigsaw puzzles when they aren’t lining up impeccable powder eights in the stunning alpine terrain of the Cariboos.
“If you want to keep skiing, you gotta take care of your body, right?” Trudy said firmly, looking back at Tom. “That’s our goal, so we can go as long as we can and enjoy the Canadian powder”.
With a cumulative vertical charting over 20 million, Tom and Trudy are the last to keep track.
“I don’t know what exactly it is,” Tom chimed in, “But it’s 99% together, and it all doesn’t matter anymore.”
“I think in the beginning, like anybody else, the million feet was important. After ten million skied, it’s the experience, the total experience of the staff, the lodges, the guides, and the ambiance.”
“I’ll tell you, overall, the solitude of the lodge gives us such a simple life there. It’s a really nice way of having a relationship, doing the same things you enjoy.” Trudy said in agreement.
The draw of CMH Cariboos
The two have seen it all over the years, and their loyalty to skiing with CMH shines bright. When asked if they have ever heli-skied anywhere else, Trudy responded by saying, “We didn’t want to take the chance of being disappointed somewhere else.”
These days, you’ll find Tom and Trudy exclusively at the Cariboos despite having skied at many of the other CMH destinations in the past. For what they are looking for, the Cariboos is it.
“I think the Cariboos has just such significant alpine terrain. The views and the sunshine are so beautiful. You know what’s interesting too, is the variation. It’s nice because you can go anywhere.
Tom Chamberlain, guest
After years of skiing there, Tom and Trudy have established deep relationships with the staff, namely the late Ernst Buehler, and John Mellis, who was Area Manager after Ernst. “We had a special connection with Johnny,” Tom mentioned. “We love to have breakfast with Keith [Brodsky], and Lodge Managers Erin [Teunissen] and Kyla [Anaka] always make us feel at home.”
Many more to come
For Tom and Trudy, the milestones that matter most to them are each year they continue to ski together, and the memories they make at CMH. The two of them represent a lifelong love of skiing that so many of us can relate to.
And they have no intention of stopping, according to Trudy.
“We’ll do it until either CMH tells us not to come back, or we just can’t ski anymore, whatever comes first.”
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Comments
Greetings to Trudy and Tom from Ping. We have become like family since starting to heliski together at Cariboos in 1987. Away from CMH, I have visited their home and they visited mine. The common bond is a mutual love of mountains, powder snow, and the warmth of caring friendship (including CMH guides and staff).
It was nice to see this story about Tom and Trudy. They are dear friends whom I haven’t seen in years. It’s because of them that I found out about CMH, and I am grateful.