These two women helped shape early CMH

Behind every great blueprint are its quiet architects.

In heli-skiing’s case, Margaret Gmoser and Lynne Grillmair are two influential, perhaps lesser-known, architects of the sport.

The stories of the late Hans Gmoser and Leo Grillmair, Margaret and Lynne’s partners, are more familiar. Hans and Leo, along with the earliest guides and pilots, forged a new way of moving through the mountains on skis. Hans founded CMH Heli-Skiing in 1965 with Leo’s support, ultimately kick-starting the heli-skiing industry.

But once the flame was lit and CMH began to grow rapidly, Margaret and Lynne worked relentlessly in the background, stoking the fires and figuring out how to create an incredible guest experience.

They helped define the spirit of heli-skiing from the beginning, setting the tone for CMH’s warm, mountain hospitality style that’s still enjoyed today.

To do so they worked all-consuming hours, wore many hats, and did whatever they could to overcome some of the logistical challenges that the remoteness of the lodges posed.

Margaret and Lynne weren’t just caretakers of a growing business; they were trailblazers in their own right, shaping the experience of a new industry. They contributed to a legacy of women forging lives in the mountains, and helped pave the path for other women to write their stories as skiers, artists, guides, and leaders.

Margaret Gmoser: The young adventurer

Margaret met Hans in 1965 at the Stanley Mitchell Hut in Yoho National Park, where he was leading a ski-touring camp. She had grown up in the Canadian Rockies, spending much of her time exploring the depths of the mountains on foot and skis.

Hans was immediately drawn to Margaret’s skill in the mountains. It took Margaret a little longer to warm up to Hans, but they soon made a connection. They ski toured together a few times, and that summer Margaret cooked for a series of mountaineering camps Hans held.

Their relationship blossomed and they were married in Banff, AB, the following year. 

Hans had been operating ski touring, and then heli-skiing’s maiden voyage, out of an old logging camp at the Bugaboos. The camp took great lengths to access, and Margaret was right there with him, hauling supplies up the 50km logging road to the base.

“We used the lumber camp for a couple of years. It was very basic—plywood shacks and wood fire heating,” Margaret recalled. “Jim Davies, the pilot from Banff, had this little bubble helicopter that could only carry two guests. They’d have to go up two at a time and wait on top until the others arrived. They only got maybe two runs a day.”

The rudimentary camp accommodations were short-lived, and soon a plan to build Bugaboo Lodge was underway. The lodge was constructed just a short distance from the camp, offering a more pleasant stay for heli-skiing’s earliest guests.

In between all this, Margaret worked on completing a university sociology degree, and by 1968, Margaret and Hans welcomed Conrad, their first of two sons. A second boy, Robson, followed in 1969.

“In the beginning, we thought CMH would just be the Bugaboos,” Margaret said. “We actually had plans to live there full-time. Hans and Leo [Grillmair] would manage the lodge, and I would homeschool the kids.”

But CMH’s quaint beginning didn’t last long, and the reality of a quiet life in the mountains was naturally curtailed by the cutting-edge experience that was being offered. The popularity was unstoppable. 

“Hans was a great optimist,” Margaret said, thinking back to the beginning. “He met people from all walks of life—very educated people, businessmen—who gave him ideas and encouraged him. He kind of learned on the fly how to raise money and interact with all these different people.”

The backbone of the Bugaboos

Those who experience modern-day CMH might have a hard time imagining sleeping in an old logging camp. The dawn of heli-skiing had its challenges and Margaret was on the front lines of the new industry. 

She was at the centre of the chaos, running the logistics of the lodge, raising two kids, and doing whatever needed to be done to keep the operation running. 

“There was no time off. Once the season started, the guides were gone all winter. I was in the lodge with the kids running around,” she said. “The staff was small. There was a cook, maybe one or two chambermaids, and the guides. Everyone did everything.”

And when she says everything, she means it. In those early years, CMH had no outside radio contact. If the helicopter was grounded due to weather, they had no way of ordering supplies. If a guest was injured, there was no immediate evacuation. Margaret remembers a time where Hans and Leo casted a broken leg themselves, because getting to a doctor wasn’t an option.

“You couldn’t just call for help—you had to figure it out,” she said.

They were figuring everything out as they went. Margaret wore many hats, not only as a mother and a lodge manager, but she would be out in the dark with her skins on searching for an overdue party, or patching a window to keep the heat in. She did it all out of passion and necessity, yet despite the challenges, the lodge was still her home.

The rustic plywood floors are now long gone, but the same family feel Margaret helped established and the passion for adventure remains. Her influence is still evident, where a love for the mountains is met with a welcoming approach and a get it done attitude. 

The mountains are still the same, and the passion for skiing is still there. But it’s different, of course. It’s more polished, more structured. That’s just the nature of growth.

Margaret Gmoser

Lynne Grillmair: The people’s chef

If Margaret was the backbone of the Bugaboos, Lynne was the one who made sure it ran like clockwork.

Lynne joined CMH in 1969 after meeting with Hans for an interview he conducted from a Calgary, AB, hospital bed where he was laid up with a broken leg. Hans needed someone to cook for the workers who were building Bugaboo Lodge, and after meeting Lynne, hired her on the spot.

It was an unconventional start to what would become a lifelong commitment to the mountains and to CMH, where nothing was conventional at that point.

It was during these years working at the Bugaboos that Lynne met Leo. They would eventually marry and purchase an acreage in Brisco at the end of the bumpy dirt road that leads to the Bugaboos. However, the lodge was their home for much of the year.

There, Lynne wasn’t just the chef—she was the chef, the pastry chef, the lodge manager, and the person keeping everything in line.

“She did what’s now five different jobs at once,” Margaret said. “And she managed Leo, too. He was a bit of a free spirit.”

At a time when CMH was still finding its footing, Lynne set a standard that remains today. She transformed the food program from basic mountain fare to something extraordinary, introducing dishes that wouldn’t be out of place in a fine European lodge. Her recipes were so popular, they made their way into a cookbook titled Gourmet in Paradise. 

“The guests were high-end,” Margaret explained. “Lynne learned to cater to them. She set the tone for what CMH’s culinary program became.”

But it wasn’t just about the food. Lynne shaped the experience. She made sure that after long powder days, the guests came back to something special. She kept the lodge running seamlessly, often while taking her turn caring for the kids, stirring a pot of soup, and handling whatever logistical puzzle needed solving.

“When it was my turn to ski, Lynne would watch my kids. And, inevitably, both of them would have some kind of crisis right when it was her turn,” Margaret laughed.

CMH is known for its European-style hospitality that remains today. Margaret pointed out that, “Hans always gave credit for the hospitality to Lizzie Rummel. She ran Sunburst Lodge and treated guests like family. They ate with her, sat with her, and she created this welcoming atmosphere.”

Lynne took initiative to adapt to the changing needs to ensure the hospitality was a standout experience for all the guests. Without her vision, CMH wouldn’t be what it is today. 

With credit to Lynne’s culinary program, Margaret continues, “Hans loved the idea that anyone, whether a Wall Street banker or a ski bum, could sit together, share a meal, and talk. He learned so much just by being around all these different people.” 

Lynne stayed at the Bugaboos for more than 20 years, quietly shaping not just CMH, but the entire culture of heli-skiing. The way lodges run today—the warmth, the hospitality, the balance of unique adventure and refined comfort—is largely because of her. 

A legacy that still guides us

It’s easy to celebrate the first descents, the pioneering guides, and the visionaries. But for every first track laid, there’s more who made it possible. Margaret and Lynne were those people. They weren’t in the helicopters, scouting new lines, but they were in the trenches, creating the foundation that made it all function.

They made sure there was food on the table, that the fires were lit, that the logistics were seamless. They built homes in the wild, places where guides and guests could come together and experience a new way of moving through the mountains.

They did it all with resilience, creativity, and an unwavering belief that the mountains could be more than a place to pass through.

As CMH celebrates its 60th anniversary, we recognize that our spirit of adventure, dedication to excellence, and deep love for the mountains stems from the people who built this place from the ground up.

So, to Margaret and Lynne, two of the women who shaped us, thank you. You made CMH more than just a heli-skiing operation. You made it a home, a proving ground, and a place where the next generations could find their way.