Golden, BC

Double double

A Golden, B.C., snowmobile tour operator helped his clients feed their need for Canada’s most beloved coffee

Helicopter and sledders

Shred some pow, then roll up the rim to win: Nothing beats a helicoptered-in coffee break at Silent Pass.” —photo courtesy Brent Bolin

By Joni Krats

Sometimes you want a coffee—and sometimes you need a coffee. That was the kind of situation Mike Palumbo of Snowpeak Rentals in Golden, B.C., found himself in when he guided a group of advanced sledders to Silent Pass, a remote playspot 60 kilometres from the nearest highway.

On a day with great conditions, Palumbo and his group rode hard.

“It was the perfect bluebird day,” said Palumbo.

Despite the seeming perfection of the experience, someone suggested that the day would be even better with a Tim Hortons coffee.

“We took a vote on the trail,” said Palumbo. “Majority rule said that we would be calling Canadian Helicopters and bringing in some coffee.”

The group decided to split the cost, although a couple of reluctant grumblers were later forced by the caffeine-fuelled democracy to pay double.

A strange request

Palumbo got on his radio phone and started making the arrangements. Canadian Helicopters dispatcher, Leslie Lapp, was amazed by the call from Palumbo.

“That was the strangest request we ever had,” said Lapp.

Brent Bolin didn’t know what to think when he got the call at the Tim Hortons location that he owns and operates in Golden—a town of fewer than 5,000 people where everyone knows everyone. “At that time, I didn’t know Mike very well,” said Bolin. “I really didn’t know if he was drunk, or what.”

Eventually, Palumbo convinced Bolin of his sincerity. Bolin filled up a few carafes of Tim’s finest, packaged up a few dozen doughnuts and picked up his son, Nicholas, who was then seven. The father and son drove out to the Canadian Helicopters pad, where pilot Dirk De Bie was waiting. Nicholas had never been in a helicopter before, so Bolin made sure they had photos.

Going above and beyond

“It was an amazing experience,” said Bolin.

Bolin would have brought his wife, Julie, as well, but she was unable to fly because she was in the final stages of pregnancy. Bolin remembers the date exactly, because the next day—March 14, 2007—Julie gave birth to their daughter, Amelia.

“Brent brought everything,” said Palumbo, who likes his Tim’s with two creams and two sugars. “More coffee than we could drink, the cream and sugar. Lots of doughnuts.”

The total bill came to around $1,000.

“It was $50 a cup,” said Palumbo, “but the experience was worth it.”

The sledders even “rolled up the rim to win,” and several won free cups of coffee and doughnuts—although delivery would not be included with those prizes.

Kootenay Rockies contacts

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  • How Does Snowmobiling Affect Caribou?

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    Environmental Stewardship Division, Ministry Of Environment
    PHONE: (250) 565-6135

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