Winter Cohorts · Lumby, British Columbia
The quietest season we have ever offered
for those healing from cancer.
This winter we are opening The Healing Oasis to three small cohorts, with a maximum of three healing guests at a time instead of ten. Same sixty acres. Same therapies. Far more of us, for far fewer of you.
Why winter
Something quieter happens here when the snow comes.
In summer we care for up to ten guests at once. In winter, three.
That single number changes everything. Phyllis, our registered nurse, is not moving between ten protocols. She is sitting with you. Meals slow down. The lake goes still. There is no schedule to keep up with, because there is hardly anyone to keep up with.
Winter also brings a few things summer simply cannot. No fire bans, so the wood fired sauna and the wood fired hot tub run whenever you want them. Snow on the trails. Long dark evenings in front of a wood stove. And the part guests keep asking us for: your spouse or partner is welcome at every dinner.
Everything clinical stays exactly the same. Your protocol is still designed by our naturopathic doctor after your intake call, and still carried out by our registered nurse on site.
A word from Dave
Two minutes on what winter here is actually like.
Rather than read all of this, watch it. Dave walks the property and explains how the winter cohorts work, who they suit, and what is different from summer.
Embed the winter explainer here using the same YouTube embed pattern as the home page. Worth setting it to open in a lightbox on first visit for ad traffic.
What is different
Seven things winter gives you that summer cannot.
01
Three guests, not tenFar more one on one time with Phyllis.
Our registered nurse, Phyllis Cherry, is on site through your stay. With a maximum of three guests her attention is not divided the way it is in a full summer cohort. Treatments are unhurried. Questions get answered properly. If something feels off at nine at night, someone is there.
For guests who find a busy retreat overwhelming, or who are simply tired, this is the season to come.
02
The big oneDinner together, and your partner is invited.
Five nights a week we cook and eat together in The Rock Eatery. Abby and Jaden Overend, our Customer Experience Managers, do the prep and cooking alongside whoever wants to help. It is relaxed, it is optional, and nobody minds if you would rather have a quiet night in.
Here is what makes winter different: every healing guest can bring one person. Your husband, your wife, your partner, whoever came with you. In summer that is not possible. In winter the table is small enough that it is.
It turns out that eating a good meal with the person you love, in a room with a fire going, is worth a great deal.
The Rock Eatery at night. Table set, fire or candles going, people mid meal. Warm and full. This is the emotional centre of the page and deserves a real photo.
03
FoodShane's kitchen, in basket form.
Breakfasts and lunches work a little differently in winter. Before you arrive we do the grocery shop, organic and the best quality we can find, and stock your kitchen. With it comes a set of recipe cards written by our head chef Shane LaRoche, and the soups he made and froze right through the summer.
So lunch is this: build a salad, make Shane's dressing, warm a soup he made in August. Ten minutes, no skill required, and you learn how to keep eating this way once you are home, which is arguably the point.
A stocked food basket. Produce, jars of frozen soup and the recipe cards laid out on a wooden counter. An overhead shot works well here.
04
No fire bansThe wood fired sauna runs all winter.
Some summers the Okanagan goes under a fire ban and the wood fired sauna and hot tub sit cold. Winter has no such problem.
Steam rising off the hot tub into freezing air. A wood sauna, then the snow, then back again. A fire by the lake on a clear night with your coat on and the sky doing what it does out here in January. There is a reason people who have been in both seasons ask about winter.
05
OutdoorsSnowshoes, provided.
When there is good snow on the ground every guest gets a pair of snowshoes, and Abby and Jaden take small groups out on the trails. It is flat, it is unhurried, and you go at whatever pace suits the day. Some guests walk twenty minutes, some walk an hour.
The forty acres in deep winter is genuinely something. The lake freezes over, the trees go silent, and the whole place feels like it belongs to you.
Snowshoeing depends on conditions and is offered when there is enough snow.
06
Where you stayOur newest accommodation, the one everyone reviewed well.
Winter guests stay in the place we opened this season, the one that has had the best reviews of anything on the property. A wood stove on the main floor. Two walk out bedrooms. Thermostat controlled heat throughout so you set it and forget it, and an electric fireplace in each bedroom, purely for how it looks on a dark afternoon.
Warm, quiet, and yours.
07
UnchangedThe same therapies. The same protocol process.
Nothing about the care changes in winter. Your protocol is still designed by our naturopathic doctor after your intake call, and still carried out on site by our registered nurse. These are the same therapies that run all summer.
The season changes the pace, the food and the company. It does not change the care.
A winter day
How the days tend to go.
Nothing here is compulsory. This is roughly the shape of it.
Morning
Slow start, then treatments
Breakfast from your basket in your own kitchen. Therapies through the morning, at your pace, with Phyllis.
Midday
Lunch you make
A salad, Shane's dressing, one of his soups warmed through. Then rest, or the sauna, or nothing at all.
Afternoon
Snow, water or fire
Snowshoeing when conditions allow. Otherwise the wood fired hot tub, the infrared sauna, or a book by the wood stove.
Evening
Dinner together
Five nights a week in The Rock Eatery with Abby, Jaden and your partner if they are here. Or a quiet night in. Both are fine.
Dates
Three cohorts. Three guests each.
Three week stays, the same as summer. Nine places in total across the whole winter, and when they are gone they are gone.
Cohort One
Nov 15 to Dec 5th
Three weeks. Mild winter, some warm days, very little snow.
3 placesCohort Two
Jan 10 to Jan 30th
Three weeks. Deep winter, shortest days, best chance of snow on the trails.
3 placesCohort Three
Feb 14 to March 6th
Three weeks. Snow still on the ground, light returning, longer afternoons outside.
3 places
The property in winter Side by side Both are good. They are simply not the same thing, and it is worth knowing which one you want. Available all winter Which of these forms part of your stay is decided by our naturopathic doctor during your intake call, based on your situation.Sixty acres under snow.
Summer and winter, honestly compared.
Summer Winter Guests at a time Up to ten Maximum of three Meals Prepared daily by our private chef Stocked organic baskets with Shane's recipe cards and frozen soups for breakfast and lunch. Dinners cooked and shared five nights a week Partners at dinner Not possible with a full cohort Every guest may bring one person Wood fired sauna and hot tub Subject to summer fire bans No fire bans, running all season Outdoors Lake, boating, walking the property Snowshoeing with Abby and Jaden when there is snow, plus fires by the lake Time with our nurse Shared across the cohort Concentrated on three people Accommodation Cabins across the property Our newest building, with wood stove, walk out bedrooms and controlled heat Therapies Set by protocol after your intake call Identical, set by protocol after your intake call Stay length Three weeks Three weeks The same therapies, unchanged.
Worth saying plainly
We do not discourage chemotherapy or surgery, and we never ask you to choose.
Our approach is supportive and it is designed to sit alongside whatever care you are already receiving. Every stay begins with an intake call with our naturopathic doctor, whose job is partly to tell you honestly whether this is right for you, including when the answer is no.
Nothing here is a cure and we will not tell you otherwise. What we can offer is rest, good food, careful attention and a quiet place in the trees.
Winter questions
What people ask about winter.
How many guests are in a winter cohort?
A maximum of three, compared with up to ten in summer. It is the quietest and most personal season we offer, and it is the main reason to choose winter.
Can my spouse or partner come to dinner?
Yes, and this is new for winter. Every healing guest is welcome to bring one person to the shared dinners in The Rock Eatery. Dinners run five nights a week and are completely optional, so you are never obliged to be sociable on a day you would rather not be.
How do meals actually work?
We shop before you arrive, organic and the best quality we can source, and stock your kitchen with a food basket. Inside it are recipe cards from our head chef Shane LaRoche and soups he made and froze through the summer. Breakfast and lunch you put together yourself, which takes about ten minutes and needs no cooking skill. Dinner, five nights a week, is cooked and shared together.
Will it be cold?
Not indoors. You will be in our newest accommodation, which has a wood stove on the main floor, two walk out bedrooms, thermostat controlled heat throughout, and an electric fireplace in each bedroom. Outdoors, dress properly and it is glorious, and the wood fired hot tub solves most complaints.
What if there is not much snow?
Then we do not snowshoe. It is the one part of winter we cannot promise, and we would rather say so up front than have you arrive expecting it. Everything else runs regardless: the dinners, the sauna, the hot tub, the fires and the therapies.
Are the therapies the same as in summer?
Yes. Your protocol is designed by our naturopathic doctor after your intake call and carried out on site by our registered nurse, exactly as it is in summer. See the full list of therapies.
What is the drive like in winter?
We are about 40 minutes from Vernon and roughly an hour from Kelowna International Airport. Winter tires are required by law on BC highways from October through April. If you would rather not drive in snow, say so and your concierge will help you sort out arrival.
How does booking work?
The same as always. Book a discovery call with our team, then have an intake call with our naturopathic doctor who gets to know you and your condition and builds your protocol. There is no pressure at any stage and no cost to find out. You can also take the fit survey first if you would rather start there.
What does it cost?
Winter pricing is all inclusive, as it is in summer. Therapies, accommodation, food and facilities are covered with no extras added while you are here. We talk about the number on a call rather than publishing it, and Dave has written about why.
Nine places, all winter
Two ways to start.
If you are ready, book a discovery call. It is a conversation, not a sales pitch, and it costs nothing. If you are still weighing it up, leave your details and we will let you know when winter dates open, with no follow up beyond that unless you ask for it.
- No cost and no obligation at any point before you book
- Every stay begins with an intake call with our naturopathic doctor
- He will tell you honestly if The Healing Oasis is not right for you
- Bring your spouse or partner. Dinner is on us
Join the winter list
For anyone who would rather not commit to anything yet.