A Brief History of Heli Skiing in BC

The History of Heli Skiing
By 1953, a mountain guide from Austria by the name of Hans Gmoser had saved enough money to move to Banff and begin a career as a guide in the spectacular wilderness surrounding 12,000-foot Mount Assiniboine, “Canada’s Matterhorn.” After a few years, he gained an intimate knowledge of the physical as well as spiritual aspects of the mountain. As Hans recalls of those early days, “I longed to share the natural beauty of the majestic mountains in Western Canada with everyone I could.”

Inspired now by a new dream, and building on his years of back country experience as a guide, Hans formed a small company called Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH). Over the next several years, his business prospered as he led thousands of skiers and climbers on thrilling mountain treks.