BUGABOO DREAMS A Story of Skiers, Helicopters and Mountains

Take the snowiest mountains in Canada, add two Austrian immigrants, an army of
adrenaline-addicted skiers (kings, queens, billionaires, average people and
everyday ski bums) and throw a helicopter into the mix for an unforgettable
story of mountain adventure.

The tale begins when two childhood friends-Hans Gmoser and Leo Grillmair-leave
postwar Austria and travel to Canada in search of adventure. They stumble upon
employment taking skiers across the vast glaciers and through the thick
forests of Western Canada. When skiers start asking the immigrant mountaineers
if it would be possible to use a helicopter to reach the best high-altitude
powder, the two find themselves catapulted into a project brimming with more
adventure, success, tragedy and fame than they could have dreamed.

Complete with archival and contemporary photos, this is the inside story of
the people, thrills, accidents and innovations behind the evolution of a sport
from a dangerous, ramshackle and lawless enterprise into a multi-million
dollar industry offering reliable access to one of the world’s most exciting
forms of recreation.

Topher Donahue is an award-winning mountaineer and journalist who has spent
most of his life guiding, climbing and skiing all over the world. He first
experienced the mountains featured in this book as a climber, which is how he
was introduced to Canadian Mountain Holidays and its founders, Hans and
Margaret Gmoser. Bugaboo Dreams is his first book.
296 pages, colour & b/w photos