ritz is a retired Swiss architect who with his wife Ursula relocated to Upper Clearwater in 1991 – inspired in part by the wilderness adventures of Canadian author Kathrene Pinkerton!

Shortly after their arrival, the Schaers built an airstrip on their property, purchased a small plane, launched Wells Gray Air Service, and for many years offered scenic flights for tourists and later fire patrols for the Kamloops Fire Centre.

Over the next decades, Fritz clocked 2,800 flights in his Cessna 182, mostly in and around the Clearwater Valley and especially Wells Gray Park. By the time he and Ursula retired from Wells Gray Air Service in 2015, hundreds of park visitors had experienced the area from a vantage usually reserved for Golden Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks!

Fritz is a first-rate photographer and over the years made many stunning aerial images of Wells Gray in all seasons. He is generous in allowing others to use his photos and, indeed, some of them appear in the slide show that heads this website. These powerful images make it possible for people around the world to experience the vastness of Wells Gray, thereby helping to win recognition for the values preserved here.

Now fully retired, Fritz and Ursula continue to enjoy life in Upper Clearwater, which they lovingly refer to as their “paradise”. You can read more about this lively couple by linking to their biographies.