Where the Helicopter Flies, the X-410 Follows
By: Rob Whelan
How a fleet of ControlByWeb X-410 devices keeps one of the world’s most iconic heli-skiing operations connected and safe in some of Canada’s most remote mountain terrain.
The Birthplace of Heli-Skiing Needs A Strong Infrastructure
In 1965, Hans Gmoser landed a helicopter on Bugaboo Glacier in the heart of British Columbia’s Purcell Mountains and gave birth to an entire industry. Today, CMH Heli-Skiing’s Bugaboos operation is considered the most iconic heli lodge in the world. A fly-in backcountry destination accessible only by helicopter, sitting beneath the dramatic granite Bugaboo Spires with over 1,597 km² of skiable terrain.
Running an operation like this is not just about world-class skiing. It demands a layer of remote infrastructure that most people never see: weather monitoring networks, microwave internet backhaul links, and power systems distributed across terrain where road access doesn’t exist. When something goes wrong at a remote site, you don’t send a technician by truck, you send one by helicopter. That makes real-time remote visibility not a luxury, but an operational necessity.
This is exactly the challenge that Rob Whelan brought to ControlByWeb and why his fleet of X-410 devices has grown to over 20 units in service across multiple sites.
Two critical applications, one versatile platform
Microwave Internet Backhaul Sites
Remote relay nodes that keep the lodge and field teams connected require continuous power monitoring and control with instant alerts when something changes.
Remote Weather Stations
Heli-skiing is a weather-dependent operation. Accurate, real-time data from distributed mountain stations informs every flight decision guides make each morning.
For the backhaul sites, X-410 units provide continuous power monitoring and control giving the team visibility into site status and the ability to remotely manage equipment without a costly site visit. For the weather station network, the X-410’s analog input capabilities allow it to pull data from sensors measuring the conditions that matter most to flight operations: the kind of granular, site-specific data that can’t be replaced by regional forecasting services alone.
The X-410 fits well in both roles precisely because it’s a web-enabled device first. There’s no proprietary software stack to manage, the device speaks standard protocols and can be polled, monitored, and controlled over IP from anywhere. In remote operations where every dollar of maintenance cost matters, that kind of flexibility is significant.
"We have a fleet of X-410 devices that we use for power monitoring and control at both our microwave internet backhaul sites, and our remote weather stations. We have about 20 units in service at the moment. Today's order was for a new weather station network at our Bugaboos operation."
Expanding into the Bugaboos
Rob’s most recent order marks the next chapter in this deployment: a new dedicated weather station network for the Bugaboos operation. The Bugaboos is CMH’s flagship destination and, as the birthplace of heli-skiing, carries a legacy that demands operational precision. Expanding the X-410 network there reflects how deeply this technology has been integrated into how the team manages remote sites, not as an experiment, but as a proven, trusted platform.
For an operation that depends on real-time weather data to make go/no-go decisions affecting guests’ safety across over multiple runs each day, having reliable distributed monitoring at the station level is a meaningful piece of the puzzle.
ABOUT THE PRODUCT
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Analog inputs for sensor monitoring
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Standard protocols: Modbus TCP, XML/JSON
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Email & SMS alerting on threshold events
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Digital I/O for control applications
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Remote access via web interface or API
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Built for industrial, remote environments
Why this matters to us at Vanco
As the sole authorized Canadian distributor of ControlByWeb products, we work with customers across a wide range of industries, but stories like Rob’s stand out. The X-410 wasn’t installed in a controlled equipment room; it was deployed across a distributed mountain network in one of Canada’s most demanding environments and has simply kept working. That’s the kind of real-world proof that matters.
If your operation involves remote sites, distributed monitoring, or infrastructure that you can’t afford to visit every time something needs attention, we’d be glad to talk through how ControlByWeb products might fit your application.
Vanco is Canada’s sole authorized CBW distributor. Contact us to discuss your remote monitoring or control application.
