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Okay. You’ve chased the perfect turn down the trails of beautiful ski resorts for years. It has been a blast. Still is, but...Maybe this season, it’s time to take the next step.
Imagine being dropped off “in the middle of nowhere” and skiing or boarding down slopes so pristine they look like they’ve never been tracked — not just on this day, but ever.
Stop imagining. Start to think seriously about going heliskiing this season. Trips are filling up, but reservations can still be made for 2007-08.
Heliskiing isn’t for everyone. Beginners would almost certainly feel uncomfortable trying to keep up with more experienced skiers/boarders on uncut, ungroomed slopes blanketed with deep powder. That said, heliskiing is an adrenaline-pushing, nature-reveling option open to a large percentage of skiers and boarders.
“We do cater to experienced skiers, but you don’t have to be an expert to heliski,” says Tyler Freed, owner of Coast Range Heliskiing in British Columbia. “This is a heliski myth that you must be an expert.”
Adds Chris Lloyd, marketing coordinator at TLH Heliskiing, another of British Columbia’s leading heliski companies, “If you can ski blue runs at your resort confidently and make parallel turns, you can heliski with us.”
What is as important as skiing ability, say tour operators, is something Competitor readers should have little problem with — fitness. Heliski operators might not be able to guarantee blue skies and fresh powder every day, but they do promise guests will burn a lot of calories and expend a lot of effort while piling up vertical feet on some of the most beautiful mountain terrain skiing has to offer.
“People can expect to ski a lot, and they do on our trips,” says Lloyd.
For that, they need to be fit, particularly on multi-day packages.
“On our seven-day tour, the average vertical feet skied is more than 130,000 feet,” says Lloyd.
That is a lot. And the effort is magnified because skiers and boarders are not just gliding over groomed runs. They are working through deep powder or charting a course around trees and other obstacles. But, as a classic song says, this is nice work if you can get it. Just read the reactions from Coast Range guests who have been lucky enough to take a heliski tour:
“I can't find the words to describe this experience! Views are totally gorgeous. Guides are knowledgeable and passionate, and so is the heli-driver. The blend gives you a forever memorable experience," writes one.
“Spectacular! Experience of a lifetime! Would do it again in a heartbeat!” writes Joey Thomas.
“Few experiences are as wonderful as you dream of beforehand, but this was beyond expectations!” writes Peter Dollard.
The rave reviews are something tour operators never tire of hearing.“We get a lot of that,” Freed says. “We’re always blown away with the feedback we get from our guests. We put a lot of effort into the experience we provide our guests, but we’re still blown away.”
So what in a typical day of heliskiing inspires such wild enthusiasm?
That depends on a lot of factors. For starters, where you choose to heliski can have a huge impact on your experience. Fortunately, North America’s West has some of the best heliskiing terrain anywhere. So you have some great options.
In the United States, heliskiing got its start in Sun Valley, Idaho. In 1966, Bill Janss, the owner of Sun Valley Resort, pioneered heliskiing in America when he founded Sun Valley Heli-Ski Guides (SVHSG). Forty-one years later, the company is still going strong. It offers guests more than 750-square-miles of terrain in three mountain ranges. And while the heliskiing may give you the feeling of being isolated, SVHSG’s location allows guests access to the services and ski area of the Sun Valley Resort as well as amenities in the neighboring town of Ketchum.
In Utah, companies such as Diamond Peak Heli-Ski Adventures offer trips into the Wasatch Mountains, where some of the lightest powder on earth awaits.
In Colorado, Telluride Helitrax has offered helicopter skiing in the remote southwest corner of the state in the spectacular San Juan range of the Rocky Mountains since 1982.
Alaska features companies such as Points North Heli-Adventures and Valdez Heli-Ski Guides, which service more than 2,500 square miles of terrain in the rugged Chugach Mountains.
