Looking for heli-skiing trip advice...

[k2rider]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question but heli-skiing has been the #1 adventure activity on my bucket list for 25-30 years but quite frankly, my wife wasn't good enough in powder to join me and I had no friends willing to splurge on the activity. Once I hit 50, I figured the idea was kaput but the last two seasons have been powder-tests for me and the fire has been re-ignited. Then, out of the blue, a newer mountain biking friend said he wants togging 2025 so it's game on!!

This friend has a friend who has gone on trips with Snowwater outside of Nelson, Canada and is already booked for 2024 so that's where we may end up but I'm up for any & all advice you can throw at me. I've already realized costs have nearly doubled but Snowwater is on par price-wise with most programs, has stellar reviews and what I like most is they have plenty of tree skiing options in their terrain...with snowcat back-up if we can't fly. With Snowwater, we'd do a 4 day trip but I'm thinking about doing 1 day with my son next February when we're in Whistler. There's just so many companies up that way, it's hard to figure out the best deal and if there's any to avoid altogether...

 

[East Coast Scott]

I’ve heard Heli out of Silverton is really good

 

[k2rider]

I’ve heard Heli out of Silverton is really good

I had never heard they had a heli operation until last Thursday when guy at AZ Snowbowl told me about it. I have family in the Durango area but only go in the Fall to mountain bike. Maybe I should take a Winter trip.

 

[East Coast Scott]

I had never heard they had a heli operation until last Thursday when guy at AZ Snowbowl told me about it. I have family in the Durango area but only go in the Fall to mountain bike. Maybe I should take a Winter trip.

I just ski’d Purgatory this past weekend, conditions were awesome.

 

[Mike King]

Northern Escape in Terrace BC. Ranked best heli operator in the world. Cat backup. Huge tenure. Huge mountains. Usually great snow.

 

[Rod9301]

I would go to Alaska instead of Canada. Ak has a maritime snowpack, Canada continental, so the avalanche risk is a lot higher in Canada.
That doesn't mean it's less safe, but it does mean that on medium or high risk days you will ski really low angle terrain.

 

[Tin Pants]

coast mountains of BC are maritime so look at operators out of bella coola large tenure big mountains ,also in the chilcotin is tyax and others they are on the border of maritime and continental

 

[rickg]

I had a very positive experience with Coast Range Heli out of Whistler several years ago. Small groups catering to advanced and expert skiers. I only went one day during a Whistler trip and would use them again.

Earlier this year I did a single day out of Panorama with RK Heli. Not the best experience.

I have a few friends with more money than I who have used CMH for a weeklong heli trip and were very happy with their experience.

My advice is to do your research, chose an outfit and have a blast!

Rick G

 

[Tom K.]

Limited experience, and a long time ago, but I had a great time with these guys:

https://www.jacksonhole.com/things-to-do/heli-skiing

The best advice I can give you as a new heli skier is to bring a friend along to show you the ropes.

Preferably one named Tom K.

 

[Mike King]

There are some downsides to Alaska:

• There are no exclusive tenures, so it can become a competition between the various heli companies to get to the (same) goods
• Weather is often not conducive to flying, resulting in (potentially lots or all) downtime
• A lot of the terrain is very steep which can be a problem for a beginning heli skier

The coast and Skeena Mountains in BC are a maritime snowpack. Some of the interior of BC is intermountain, not continental. Yet management of avalanche risk considers the snowpack conditions. What matters is the qualifications and experience of your guides.

The further north you go, generally the better the snow conditions in the maritime snowpack...

Mike

 

[RachelV]

I went heliskiing alone at PNH in Cordova back in 2016 and it was a great experience. I spent a bunch of time on the phone talking to one of the co-owners about my skiing & my goals etc and she matched me up with a lovely group of ladies from Seattle and Utah and I had an amazing time. Which is just to say - take yourself heliskiing no matter what! Everyone's friends in the heliskiing lodge!

 

[k2rider]

Thanks for all the replies. I’m learning already as I’d never even heard of the term “maritime snowpack”. @Rod9301 I’m not adverse to Alaska but definitely prefer trees vs open bowls but of course love both. @rickg I’ll be in Whistler next February and hope to do a day of Cat or Heli with somebody so thank you for the recommendation.

 

[martyg]

I just ski’d Purgatory this past weekend, conditions were awesome.

This winter is a huge anomoly for SW CO. Yes, it has been great, but don't bank on it. Also, our snowpack is very, very sketch.

 

[martyg]

My go-to, and I have heli and cat skied numerous locations in North America - Arctic Heli Ski in Iceland.

• Cheap and direct flights to Iceland - it is far easier for me to get to Iceland than BC
• The best food of any heli operation that I have had
• No trees
• Superb descents from ridgeline to Arctic Ocean
• You may be the only American there - really an international clientele
• Amazing culture

Spent the month of April there last year.

Day operations universally suck - unless you book the entire cat / chopper. On my last day of cat skiing at Purg we had a bunch of firefighters from Sacramento. They got toasted the night before. Held up everyone. Two had to be taken off the mtn on sleds. 4 runs. Waste of a day. Day operations and destination operations are like comparing apples to kumquats.

 

[James]

@AngryAnalyst has heli skied a bunch I think.

 

[AngryAnalyst]

@AngryAnalyst has heli skied a bunch I think.

A bunch is an exaggeration but I do have some thoughts. First, I’d be less definitive than @martyg (perhaps less experienced than he), but day and destination heli are indeed different things. As he points out the biggest issue is the group skis at the lowest level of any participant and guides care way more about everyone descending safely than getting anyone into their dream terrain. I’d personally be most interested in day heli skiing if conditions were low hazard but very soft as an alternative to human powered backcountry laps, whereas the lodge based things I would do as much as my budget and schedule allowed.

There are a lot of variables for lodges and I have been to only one. Pay attention to what you’re paying for (laps, vertical, hobs hours) and refund policy. Alaska and BC have pluses and minuses. If you really want to ski in trees, BC is a clear winner and I would speculate it’s a little less exposed to bad luck on weather because you could probably ski on less bluebird days. Not sure which direction snowpack stability points on average, both can have issues.

 

[k2rider]

There are a lot of variables for lodges and I have been to only one. Pay attention to what you’re paying for (laps, vertical, hobs hours) and refund policy. Alaska and BC have pluses and minuses. If you really want to ski in trees, BC is a clear winner and I would speculate it’s a little less exposed to bad luck on weather because you could probably ski on less bluebird days. Not sure which direction snowpack stability points on average, both can have issues.

Thanks, I'm essentially tagging along on a friends trip but I'll definitely get my input in. Luckily, their 1st option looks really good and it appears it has plenty of tree runs. I was taken aback at the costs at first until I started doing my own research and realized most operations are in the same ballpark was far as costs go.

 

[AngryAnalyst]

Thanks, I'm essentially tagging along on a friends trip but I'll definitely get my input in. Luckily, their 1st option looks really good and it appears it has plenty of tree runs. I was taken aback at the costs at first until I started doing my own research and realized most operations are in the same ballpark was far as costs go.

Yeah, costs are pretty similar across similar ops. As far as I can tell, they charge something that works out to them getting ~$100K/helicopter week. Some variability for lodge quality but not a ton.

The higher sticker lodges I spoke with were generally running fewer loads per chopper and more guides. Generally $1,000-2,000 usd/day base rate for the higher throughput lodges and the more bespoke ones were closer 3x that.

 

[martyg]

First, I’d be less definitive than @martyg (perhaps less experienced than he),

What I so loved about Iceland... no trees. I adore skiing trees when well spaced. And ski areas can do this. However heli and cat operations often have too much acreage to really keep a handle on growth.

That being said, I have memories of places with 400 - 500 vertical of perfectly spaced old growth trees that were game-on steep. It was just sublime. I also distinctly remember that those sections were often followed by what seemed like 10,000 vertical feet of 10' scrub on shallow terrain that was a death march.

That is the thing with heli / cat skiing. You see all of these epic photos of perfect days. And guides bust their butts to get you in the goods. However, it is still a feral experience, no matter where, with boilerplate, avy debris, scary traverses in no-fall zones, and great pow.

 

[AngryAnalyst]

That is the thing with heli / cat skiing. You see all of these epic photos of perfect days. And guides bust their butts to get you in the goods. However, it is still a feral experience, no matter where, with boilerplate, avy debris, scary traverses in no-fall zones, and great pow.

Yep, very much like human powered backcountry pursuits in this way. The snow does seem more likely to be good out of a heli if only because you have much more freedom of choice with respect to aspects and ranges, plus you have local knowledge on board calling the shots. But still very much agree that it’s far from the movie stuff quite often.