Our dream job

Sitting in a sparkling blue Bell-407, earmuffs over our heads, microphones at our mouths, hands wrapped tightly around our printed photographs, maps and GPS, peering down at the mountain peeks below – it is hard to believe this constitutes our daily work! Even though we have settled into a groove over the past week, this adventure never seizes to amaze us. For this, and for all of the support that we receive every day, we are extremely grateful.

[From left to right] Kristen Walsh, Mary Sanseverino, Mandy Annand (former MLP member visiting for the day), Vladka Lackova, and Rick Arthur).

We were delighted to have the opportunity to head into Bears Paw (ESRD headquarters in Calgary) on Friday to be put to work on a very unique task: the making of over 3,000 pancakes in honour of the Bertie Beaver breakfast. While Eric and Mary were phenomenal at sharing MLP’s work with visitors of all ages, the rest of us flipped pancakes for hours, energized by the opportunity to meet a number of ESRD employees with whom we had only communicated by phone or radio to date.

Nicole Goodmand on flipping duties

Kristen Walsh checking on the pancakes, getting ready to stamp over 1,400 visitors (who would have imagined there would be such a turnout!)

Speaking of communications, we have all become quite accustomed to constant radio check-ins, helicopter call signs and the phonetic alphabet, which I was found guilty of reciting during my sleep on one occasion. “Roger that”, “How on that” and “Wilco” are now part of our everyday vocabulary.

[Left to Right] Tanya Taggart-Hodge and Vladka Lackova flying with the door off; Vladka as the “Station whisperer” and Tanya as the Photographer

Monday was a particularly eventful day for both MLP teams. Mary, Vladka and I made our first hover exit on the southwest ridge of Mt. Chester, which we then proceeded to climb (Summit 10,020ft). A thunderstorm rolled in quickly however, forcing us off the summit almost as soon as we’d arrived.

[Left to right] Mary Sanseverino and Vladka Lackova on the Summit of Mt.Chester, thunder in the distance

Although there were multiple hypotheses as to where the name “Mt. Indefatigable” originated (optimists believing it was linked to hikers never becoming fatigued, whilst pessimists felt it was rather the mountain that never ended), the pessimists prevailed.

[Left to Right] Nicole Goodman and Kristen Walsh on Mt.Indefatigable. Good thing they got a ‘bump’ (helicopter) for this one!

Unfortunately the picture-perfect weather we experienced over the first 10 days has been replaced by haze coming from a number of wildfires in B.C. and Alberta. The work has continued in full force nevertheless, with ML1 at Mt.Kent and Mt. Brock and ML2 at Grotto Mt. and Mt.Baldy yesterday.

Tanya Taggart-Hodge conducting third views on Mt.Grotto, which will enable a comparative analysis of the Bow River from three temporal sets of photographs