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About

It Started on a Family Home

Since 1992, we have been sharing the mountains surrounding our home with guests from around the world.

Our Story

From the Family Homestead to a Mountain Lodge

Mark grew up in Crescent Spur, but it was not until he began guiding in southern British Columbia that he recognized the heli-skiing potential of the mountains surrounding his home. He and co-founder Regina worked together at Selkirk Wilderness Skiing near Nelson. In 1982, they purchased the family property from Mark’s mother, Elizabeth, and began transforming his childhood home into a heli-ski lodge.
Early heli-hiking trips helped Mark and the team explore and learn the surrounding mountains. After Crescent Spur welcomed its first heli-skiing guests in the winter of 1992, summers became a time for building and expanding the lodge. Mark completed much of the construction himself, with help from local tradespeople and, at times, members of the guiding team.

Today, the 1,300-square-metre lodge has 18 private ensuite guest rooms and sits on the original property along the Fraser River, surrounded by approximately 240 hectares of fields and forest in the Rocky Mountain Trench.

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Still Owner-Operated

Mark remains the owner, continues to work on the lodge and property, and occasionally joins guests in the mountains as a guide. Our leadership, guiding and lodge teams bring years of experience and a lasting commitment to Crescent Spur.

We remain intentionally limited in size, welcoming a maximum of 20 guests each winter week. This gives our team time to get to know guests and share experiences in the mountains and around the lodge. Many return to the same week year after year.

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Summer at Crescent Spur

In 2022, we brought summer programs back at the request of heli-skiing guests who wanted to experience Crescent Spur in another season. Today, our heli-fishing and heli-hiking programs take small groups into remote rivers, mountain creeks, subalpine lakes, alpine meadows and ridgelines across the Northern Rockies and Cariboo Mountains.

Our Team

The People Behind the Crescent Spur Experience

Crescent Spur has always been a small operation, and every member of the team plays a part in the guest experience. Guides, pilots, chefs, managers and lodge staff work closely together throughout each trip.

We are mountain people and hospitality people. Many of the same people who help plan and deliver the day in the mountains are there when guests return for après, dinner and an evening around the fire. That continuity is one of the things longtime guests value most about Crescent Spur.

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Mark Aubrey
Founder, Owner and Guide
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Jess Handley
Chief Operating Officer
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Jesse Milner
Director of Mountain Operations and Lead Guide
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Greg Fuchs
Head Chef, Affectionately Known as Zee Chef
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Alexandra Stott
Lodge Manager
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Tavanna Van Burgen
Assistant Lodge Manager and Head of Housekeeping
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Erica Solomons
Food and Beverage Manager and Assistant Lodge Manager
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Jessica Handley
C.O.O

Director of Business Operations

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Christine Lindenberg

Lodge Manager

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Alexandra Stott

Assistant Lodge Manager

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Jesse Milner

Director of Mountain Operations & Lead Guide

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Keith Libech

Lead Guide

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Steve Blake

Lead Guide

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Linus Persson

Lead Guide

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Matt Stelmaschuk

Lead Guide

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Ari Bruns

Lead Guide

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Emma Freeman

Tail Guide

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Craig Hartmetz

Tail Guide

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Trent Lemke

Heli-Ski Pilot

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Ken Gray

Heli-Ski Pilot

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Dave Hawrys

Heli-Ski Pilot

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Greg Fuchs

Head Chef

What's Included

Every package, the same way

Regardless of tour date or package type, here’s what’s built into the price — and what’s on you.

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Our Guides

Our guests love our guides, and we are unique in having such a long-standing guiding team, with most of them lead guides.

  • Keith Libech, Lead Heli-Ski Guide, since 2005
  • Steve Blake, Lead Heli-Ski Guide, since 2010
  • Ari Bruns, Lead Heli-Ski Guide and Hiking Guide, since 2015
  • Linus Persson, Lead Heli-Ski Guide, since 2019
  • Matt Stelmaschuk, Lead Heli-Ski Guide and Hiking Guide, since 2024
  • Emma Freeman, Tail Guide, since 2022
  • Craig Hartmetz, Tail Guide and Fishing Guide, since 2020
  • Ken Bibby, Fishing Guide, since 2023

Ascent Helicopters and Our Flight Team

Since 2015, Ascent Helicopters has been our winter helicopter provider. Crescent Spur has worked with Ascent owner Trent Lemke for more than 30 years. Trent’s long history with Crescent Spur, together with experienced mountain pilots Ken Gray and Dave Hawrys, brings valuable continuity and familiarity to our flight operations.

  • Trent Lemke, Owner of Ascent Helicopters, Pilot
  • Ken Gray, Pilot
  • Dave Hawrys, Pilot
Common Questions

About Us, answered

How long has Crescent Spur been operating?

Crescent Spur welcomed its first heli-skiing guests in the winter of 1992. Some of our early guests still ski with us today.

Yes. Founder Mark Aubrey remains actively involved as the owner, master builder and a member of the guiding team. He works alongside a longstanding leadership, guiding and lodge team.

In winter, we host a maximum of 20 lodge guests each week. Summer departures are smaller, with 6 to 8 anglers per fishing trip. Hiking capacity is confirmed according to the mix of anglers and hikers on each departure.

Yes. More than 80% of our winter guests have skied with us before. Many return to the same week year after year. Guests who first arrived on their own have also formed lasting friendships and now plan their annual trips together.

Crescent Spur is located in the Robson Valley of British Columbia, along the Fraser River in the Rocky Mountain Trench between the Northern Rockies and Cariboo Mountains. The lodge is approximately 160 kilometres, or two hours, east of Prince George and about two and a half hours northwest of Jasper, Alberta. Most guests fly into Prince George Airport, where scheduled ground transportation to the lodge is provided.

Our guiding team includes guides certified through the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides and the Canadian Ski Guide Association, as well as highly experienced guides whose careers began through earlier industry pathways. The team completes ongoing avalanche, first aid and mountain rescue training. Crescent Spur is also a member of HeliCat Canada.

Yes. We run small-group heli-fishing and heli-hiking programs from the lodge during July and August.