Chris Cooper
Professional Guide, Explorer and Photographer

Chris has been in the professional guiding business for the past 30years organizing High End custom expeditions to areas in Canada’s High Arctic, to winter ski expeditions to remote areas in British Columbia, to Canoe programs for Corporations, Private schools, Public schools, ESL schools.

On March 31, 2007 Chris was inducted into the Ridge/Meadows Hall of Fame

Chris was the instrumental in opening up the Voyageur Canoe business in Western Canada and owned the largest fleet of Historical Voyageur Canoes in Canada. He has had the opportunity of being a guest lecturer / speaker to many organisations over the past 20 years.

This year 2006 Chris travels overseas on a lecture circuit to the UK to speak about his adventures and to discuss the British Isles Canoe Journey for 2008/2010.

Originally from the village of Oxenhope, Yorkshire, England, Chris moved to Canada in 1957 with his parents to Maple Ridge where he has spent most of his life residing here.

His interest in the outdoors originated in the UK and has been with him ever since, his interest first started with backpacking and hiking in his early teens and progressed to Mountaineering endeavours which has taken him around the world. Although his love for the mountains has always been with him, he took up Back country Skiing in the early 70s. Chris has had the opportunity to see some extraordinary places which are wild and remote especially Canada’s High Arctic.

Some of these areas include several visits to Ellesmere Island, Devon Island, Coburg Island and Banks Island in Canada’s Western Arctic. Some of these have been on skis and have been very lengthy, up to six weeks in the field and hundreds of kilometres long. His photography & film tell the story of these visits.

Chris has been involved with water sports since the early seventies when he spent some of his summers paddling kayaks around the shoreline of West Vancouver where he resided with his parents.

Since that time, Chris has had so many interesting journeys mostly by Canoe, large Canoes of 30ft in length and longer, his most outstanding challenge was two years ago (2004)when he paddled his new 42ft Montreal Canoe from Petersburg, Alaska to Vancouver, a journey that took 105 days to complete.

This Canoe was custom built for the challenges of open ocean paddling and preparing for his British Isles Canoe journey 2008/2010. I have listed some of the more interesting Canoe journeys below.

Some highlights of paddling Big Canoes in the province of BC and around the world.

1984 Thompson River training for the 1985 Historical Canoe journey from Fort St. James to Fort Langley.

1985 Paddling the Stewert River, Nechaco River, Fraser River Fort St. John to Fort Langley

1986 Dragonboat Racing at Expo False Creek with the Lotus Sports Club

1987 Whitewater ( 10 ) Trips on the Thompson River from Savona to Spences Bridge Organizer

1988 Winner of the Dragonboat Finals in False Creek Vanc. Qualifying for International Hong Kong Races

1989 Representing Canada in the World Finals Dragonboat festival Hong Kong.

1990 to Present...... First years of the Commercial Big Canoe business with various groups worldwide.

1996 Assignment by the RCMP to provide training for RCMP members for the VisionQuest Journey

1997 A Historical Event on the BC Coast ‘ Vision Quest” with Roy Vickers and the RCMP BC Coast

1998 A Historical Event.... Vision Quest on the Sunshine Coast with Roy Vickers and the RCMP

1999 A Historical Event Ahousat Youth Quest Tribal Canoe Journeys and with the RCMP

2000 ‘Pulling together’ Canoes Journeys of the Fraser River Ed Hill retired member RCMP

2001 ‘ Pulling Together’ Fraser River from Hope to Gibsons a Historical Canoe Journey

2002 Organized a Film Documentary for ZDF German National Television

2003 Numerous Canoe Journeys on the BC Coast including ‘ Pulling Together’

2004 Petersburg,Alaska to Vancouver BC 105 days, 2000km.

2005 Prince Rupert to Rivers Inlet on the British Columbia Coast. 30 days, 600km.

Media and Film

In addition to so many fine experiences and adventures Chris has had the opportunity to be hosted in many magazines and newspapers some of these are Canadian Geographic, Adventurous magazine, Explore magazine, BC Business, Kanawa magazine, Western Canoeing magazine, High UK magazine, The Vancouver Sun, The Province Newspaper, The Victoria Times, Ketchikan Daily News, The Daily News, The Petersburg Pilot, The Times, The MR News.

Chris has also had the opportunity to be interviewed on Global Television via satellite telephone from Ellesmere Island, also hosted in the studio on the morning news hour Global TV twice in 2005, CBC National television summer of 2005 and ZDF German National television, BBC Radio Cornwall April 2006 ( Lawerence Reid ) show, Chris has also been hosted on several film documentaries most recently a two week assignment ZDF Film documentary on the BC Coast.

Contact information

Chris G. Cooper
19311 116A Avenue, Pitt Meadows, BC  V3Y-1E4

Phone: 604-465-9320
Email: c.coopersadventures@shaw.ca
Website: www.spiritdancercanoejourneys.ca