Heli Rafting The Kicking Horse River
Early spring 2016 were troubling times for anyone looking to access the lower canyon section of the Kicking Horse river for both recreation and local guided rafting tours. Canadian Pacific had taken a firm stance on restricting the unmarked railway crossing that was being used in order to reach the river. Loosing access to some of Canada best and easily accessible whitewater would be a massive blow to the whitewater community. A rally was planned, petitions were signed and social media exploded with outrage at the potential loss of the lower canyon put in over some logistical red tape put up by industry.
All seem saved after a meeting between the stakeholders of both parties came to an agreement that would allow access as it was done for many years before. The community relieved turned the April 30th rally into a victory celebration in honour of preserving access to the lower canyon. It came to a surprise to the community when they went to use the put in CP had locked the gate and seemed to have completely changed it's stance on allowing access effectively locking out the community.
The fight continues to save the lower canyon but in mean time local rafting company Glacier Rafting isn't about to let CP get in the way of letting guests enjoy this world glass section of whitewater. CP is restricting land crossing along the traditional lower canyon put it but no one said you couldn't fly over it. Thus Glacier Rafting is offering heli rafting to it's guests this summer. I can' help but admire the the tenacity of the whitewater community and it's efforts to continue using the lower canyon. We can only hope that CP will honour the agreement in the near future.