A Day in the Life of a Heli Guide
By Manouane Deschenes

The alarm rings between 6 and 6:30am. It’s still dark outside. It’s time for the heli ski guides to roll out of bed. There is dampness in the air. A glance out the window of the cabin; it’s snowing lightly.  Slip on dressy fleece attire and walk to the main lodge, climb the stairs to the guides’ office and sit down at the computer to start organizing the day ahead.

It’s quiet in the building, but there is already activity in the kitchen. The team arrives one by one

Since guides work in a team of 3 this week, they have divvied up the tasks required to prepare the day’s logistics before their daily morning meeting. One guide does weather analysis, retrieving data from our remote weather station and regional weather forecast, somebody else looks up snow and avalanche reports, while another works out the groups sequence and weight loads on the helis. Friendships, skiing ability, and fuel efficiency all come into play in this process.

Before guests arrive and on an ongoing basis, the guides go into the field to dig snow pits and study the various storm layers in the snow to get a grasp on the snow pack. They inspect and maintain the fuel caches that keep the heli going through out the day. Charge the radios and test the transceivers. If time allows they do a bit of product testing.

The 7am guides meeting allows them to share information and plan the day. Runs are selected. The morning announcement to guests is put together which the lead guide will deliver to the group at breakfast. Grab a coffee, bring in some wood, make a fire in the fireplace in the big room. Dawn is breaking, the snow has tapered but there is still a cover of fog in the valley. It’s breakfast time.

One guide oversees the preparation of the day’s lunches while others assemble the equipment that will be needed for the day, like radios, ABS packs and avalanche transceivers. Another answers the guests’ many questions. Time to change into ski clothes and pull on the ski boots.

Once everyone gathers on the lawn, getting ready for the first pick up, the guide makes sure the first group is on the heli pad on the lawn for the landing heli. He loads up skis and packs in the ski basket clamped on the machine’s skids while skiers get in. He  boards the heli, in the front seat next to the pilot. In the heli, he is the only one to wear a headset to communicate with the pilot.

There is excitement in the cockpit. The fog parts and the newly dusted snow peaks glimmer in the sun. It’s going to be a good day! While the skiers enjoy the views and flight, the guide gets very focused. He is reading. Like an architect reads a blueprint or a broker reads financial reports, the guide reads into the natural world. He reads the clouds movements and shapes, the snow; have there been slides since yesterday? Does the snow look affected by winds? Where are the cornices? He notices animal and human made tracks. There is a constant synthesis of facts and intense attention to the environment. In the headset, he listens to the pilot, another heli in the area, another guide on the radio. He keeps an eye on the fuel gage. Throughout the day of skiing, he continues to observe, making sure that the group is safe, and that the timing of the heli benefits all the skiers. When mere mortals are ready to drop, or the weather intervenes, the heli ride back to the lodge is one final chance to observe the terrain in preparation for the evening report and the next day’s plans.

All guides are “on duty” until the last skier has come back to the lodge. That means, no beer yet…Once everyone has returned, they complete the day’s reports, have their evening meeting to review the day, exchange info and plan for the next day. Pretty soon it is time for dinner with the guests.
A ski guide can spend over one third of the year away from home and family. Many are talented at various outdoors sports and love a adventure. Their greatest fear: the Heli Belly!

Many thanks to Paul Berntsen for the raw information, to Jan Neuspiel for editing my draft and Shirley from WCH for the heli specific language.

Thanks to Jia Condon for the snow pit and guide skiing photos and Paul Berntsen for the lead image and picture of the fuel cache.

Interview by Tom Jackson,  HELISKI.com

Bella Coola Helisports offers heliskiing and heliboarding out of Bella Coola, BC ( 1 hour flight North of Vancouver) from three different lodges. We talked to owner Beat Steiner recently about the flagship operation at Tweedsmuir Lodge.

1. Beat, Bella Coola heli-skiing and heli-boarding  is known for your terrain. Tell us about the Tweedsmuir Lodge area.

The Bella Coola area’s particular attraction is the unrivaled alpine terrain we can access. The runs are long, varied and always interesting. Combine this with a solid snowpack and it’s skier’s dream come true.

In my previous life as a ski and snowboard cinematographer, I was fortunate to ski all over the world, including with heli operations on 5 continents and at many of my competitor’s lodges here in BC. It has to be said that there is nothing else like British Columbia for the skiing and snowboarding enthusiast. The particular configuration of the mountain ranges, the weather patterns, the topography, the trees and the vast spaces, makes it the best and most reliable place to ski powder in the world.

For me, Bella Coola has all of what makes BC great in the best possible combinations.

2. You have integrated travel into your trips better than any other operator. Explain how a typical trip works, please.

For sure this seems to be a more and more important consideration in our busy world. The way it works for us is as follows: our clients catch a one hour 10 minute flight to Bella Coola [in the morning]. On their arrival at 11:30, we meet them as they disembark and drive them 300 yards to the heli port. We serve lunch, they get changed into ski clothing, do some safety exercises and then go skiing. It’s as fast and simple as that. They then ski and fly their way to the lodge, where at the end of the day, the heli drops them on the lawn outside their private chalet. It’s a very cool set up.

The return journey is equally efficient. We ski and fly from the lodge and land the clients at the airport on the tarmac outside the terminal. It’s a rock star finish to the week.

3. The snow at Whistler Blackcomb has given the Coast Range a bad rap. How is your snow at Bella Coola Heli Sports?

I love the snow in Whistler. I’ve lived here for 30 years and I would argue it’s one of the most reliable places in the world to find good powder skiing and snowboarding. Yes, sometimes it can be wet, but all destinations have their issues. To me the most important thing is that it’s generally stable and we can ski super cool lines. There is a reason why so many film crews shoot their best stuff in the Coast Range from Whistler stretching north to Alaska.

As with regards to the snow in Bella Coola, I would say it’s ideal. It’s certainly lighter than here in Whistler.  After all, we are further North and operate at a higher elevation. The biggest thing however, is that we operate primarily on the east side of the range, the dry side, whereas Whistler is on the Western slope. It’s the same pattern as in California where the east side of the Sierra’s drops down into the desert (there are even places in BC with rattle snakes). In any case, we have what I think is a perfect snowpack. It’s reliable, stable, and light, but with enough resistance and density that you float on top rather than ski the rocks and ice underneath. Check out the picture.

4. With a huge tenure stretching West to East, is it true you can find good snow just about any day?

Yes, 2.65 million acres!  Having a big tenure does guarantee that we can pretty well find good snow every day. However, the magic of Bella Coola is not that the tenure is so big, but more the micro climatic conditions of the zone we are in.  The storms roll in off the Pacific and as they move east dumping their load of snow, it gets progressively drier. Being in the transition zone means that if it’s storming we stay more in the eastern parts of our area, but if it clear and it hasn’t snowed in a while, we can head west into the big snow zone.  [Nice!]

5. Some think a huge tenure is irrelevant, because operators stay close to the lodge to save on fuel.  Does size matter?

It’s true that we have more terrain then we can ski in a lifetime. In total it’s 10,700 square kilometers (4,300 sq/miles). This is equal in size to the entire Swiss Alps, except there are no ski lifts, no roads, and no people. And yes, costs and logistics demand that for the most part the heli has to stay reasonably close to refueling options. However, one of the things I have always enjoyed most about skiing is exploring. Going to new places, seeing what’s over in the next valley, skiing stuff nobody has ever skied before.  Lots of the guides working for our company are old ski buddies from the ski bum days, who have this same philosophy. Anyway, I like the idea that we as a company will still be exploring our area well into the future. It makes it interesting and exciting.

6. Tell us about the Tweedsmuir lodge, please, Beat.

The Bella Coola Valley is a magical little slice of what is a magical part of the world. The reaction we get from lots of people is that they feel like they have somehow landed in Shangri-La. The vertical relief out of the valley is huge. Combine this with big rock walls and tumbling glaciers, and it creates what are some of the most stunning views in the province.

The Tweedsmuir Park Lodge sits at the base of Mt. Stupendous (the name says it all) and is on the banks of the Atanarko River. We are inside a provincial park so it’s a very pristine and wild environment.

Accommodation at the lodge is in private double occupancy chalets with the main lodge for dining and socializing. It’s a great set up offering lots of privacy, yet intimate enough that by the end of the week everybody skiing that week has gotten to know each other.

7. What is the average vertical in a day of heliskiing / heliboarding at Bella Coola Tweedsmuir Lodge?

The average vert varies a fair bit depending on whether we are skiing on a sunny day or a bad weather day. If it’s sunny and we are skiing the huge alpine lines the vert racks up pretty fast and its common to ski 30,000plus feet.  On bad weather days we ski in the trees, and the average vert maybe closer to 15,000 for the day.

8. You ski in groups of 4 or 5 in A-Star ships, right?

Yes that is correct. For the most part we do 4 people per load for the sake of comfort and increased operational flexibility (we can carry more gas and fly further into our tenure). However, with the A-star B2 it is possible to add a 5th client and if we have a group of 5 that want to ski together then we try to accommodate that.

9. How many groups share a helicopter?

The Tweedsmuir Park Lodge can host 16-18 people per week. On a normal week this breaks down to be four heli loads, which we would service with two machines. So each machine is flying just two loads.  [Wow]

As you know the standard for most heli ops is three loads. On occasion we also do three loads in one machine, but that would be the maximum.

10. How does your skiing change from January to April?

In January we ski more trees and can sometimes ski from a 7,000 foot summit right down to 1,500 feet above sea level. My personal favorite time however is probably late March and April. The days are longer, the snowpack is settled, and the weather generally more stable. This is when we do most of our exploring and ski some great circuits in the really big alpine. Even late April is not too late to get superb powder snow. Our area is very heavily glaciated and all that ice acts like a giant freezer keeping the snow cold. We have even had clients come up and ski in June, July and even as late as September. The idea was to go ski corn snow, but more often than not they also get to ski some powder.

11. How often do people mispronounce your name, Beat?

I have to say I don’t even notice anymore. I grew up with it and it’s always been difficult for English speakers.  If people ask, I tell them my dad was a drummer. The fact is that it’s actually a fairly common name in Switzerland (my dad is Swiss). It’s the male version of Beatrice and is pronounced similarly. I like it. It’s the same root as the beatitudes and beatific and comes from the latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate or blissful. My life has been all that so no complaints from me. [What a great answer, BE-ot]

12. What % of your guests are European?

At the moment I would say about 70% of our clients are from Europe. A few years ago the split was closer to 50/50 between North Americans and Euros. That changed with Lehman Brothers going under. [Ouch]

Also, back in those days our currency was the Canadian peso whereas the currencies are more or less at par now. I’d like to get our numbers back to a 50/50 split. I am counting on this interview to help! [Occupy Bella Coola!!]

13. What is your most popular package?

The most popular program is the standard one week vertical package. This is 100,000 vertical feet of skiing over the course of a 7 night stay. With 7 nights in Bella Coola, there is an opportunity to ski 6 full days and two half days. The semi-private program is also popular and is ideal for a group of 8 people who know each other and want more input in deciding when and where to go skiing.

14. What % of your guests return the following year?

I would say that about 75% of our clients each year are returning guests and 25% are first timers.

15. We will talk about your other two lodges (Pantheon and Big Mountain) next time.  Is there anything else you would like to add about your Tweedsmuir Lodge operation?

What I really want to try to emphasize to your readers is how much fun heli skiing and snowboarding is. Resort skiing simply doesn’t come close. It’s not only about the endless untracked powder either, but also the fantastic thrill of flying into the mountains in this magical machine, a helicopter, and then having the pilot put you down on some remote peak in the middle of nowhere. Being out in these kinds of environments is an awesome privilege. Being able to ski or snowboard as well is a bonus. I would strongly urge anybody that likes to ski and snowboard to book heli skiing at least once in their lifetime, either in Bella Coola or with one of my competitors.  [No way, Beat.  You are one of a kind!]

After all, there is a reason so many people list a day of heli skiing as the best day in their life ! 

Thanks, Beat, always a pleasure!

Best,

Tom Jackson
CPO (Chief Powder Officer)

No. 1: Boutique ski maker
“When your passion is your job, you never work a day in your life,” says Jordan Grano, founder of Folsom Custom Skis in Boulder, Colorado. “To have a chance to affect the industry you love in a positive way and help people enjoy their time skiing is what motivates me.” Many boutique ski companies are spawned by skiers, usually after they’re dissatisfied with the skis already out on the market. Perks include testing the skis during powder days. How to break in: Find a gap in the current market and be creative on how you can help fill it. Study ski design from other companies and stay motivated. Grano doesn’t have a degree in designing, instead he spent years doing personal, in-depth field work with skis he built before he began marketing them.

No. 2: Heli-ski guide
Being a heli-ski guide in Canada or Alaska may be one of the world’s most high-risk jobs, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. “The best part of my job? Skiing sick spines all day,” says Jim Delzer, who’s worked as a guide at Valdez Heli Ski Camps in Valdez, Alaska, for the last three years. “I ski untracked steeps in Alaska for about 40 days each winter.” How to break in: Work as a ski patroller or mountain guide, and be sure to take wilderness first responder courses, avalanche safety courses, and guiding courses from the American Mountain Guides Association or the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. You may also have to climb your way up the ladder by working the front desk, kitchen, or radio operations at a heli outfitter before you get bumped up to guide.

No. 3: Ski photographer
Getting a single usable action photograph of a skier takes more effort than most people realize. But it’s also more rewarding. Just ask Ian Coble, a self-taught photographer who has shot editorial spreads for ESPN, Backcountry, Powder, Skiing, and more. “It’s absolutely incredible to get paid to travel and ski the most incredible places on earth,” Coble says. “I also get to spend time outside and not behind a desk. I have the freedom to work for myself.” How to break in: Photoshop skills are a must, as is motivation to work hard, mostly independently at first. It’s also very important to network and you have to be passionate about your work, says Coble. “It’s going to take this energy to show emotion in your work.”

No. 4: Ski writer
Granted, being a ski writer was more glamorous in the days of bottomless magazine budgets, but it’s still a pretty cushy job. Just ask Rob Story, a Telluride, Colorado-based freelance writer who has penned ski-related stories for Skiing, Powder, Outside, Men’s Journal, Travel & Leisure, Rolling Stone, and others. “The perks have been awesome through the years—free gear, great travel, more expensive steaks and bottles of wine than I can count,” says Story. How to break in: A journalism degree and a magazine internship are good places to start. “Skiing ability is important, of course, but it doesn’t help a magazine nearly as much as someone competent with words,” Story says. “Internships remain the best way to get into it, and to meet the editors who determine freelancers’ fates.”

No. 5: Ski movie maker
A ski filmmaker gets free Clif bars, more than 2,000 Facebook friends, countless excess baggage fees, and 4 a.m. wakeup calls all winter. Just ask Nick Waggoner, director of Colorado-based Sweetgrass Productions, a ski film company founded in 2007. “My favorite moments are when we connect with people who watch the films,” says Waggoner. “It’s food for our creative side.” But despite the early morning missions to catch good light, filmmakers get to travel to some of the world’s best ski destinations with some of the best skiers. How to break in: A film school degree and owning your own camera gear will help. Sign up for an adventure filmmaking class like the Serac Adventure Film School. And do your homework, says Waggoner. “Watch movies, look at photographs … get inspired,” he says. “Learn what makes a good film and surround yourself with friends who will push you.”

No. 6: Product designer
We’d all be lost without product designers — they make sure ski equipment is designed correctly so a skier doesn’t launch off a cliff sans boot. And then they get to test their products. Black Diamond product developer Derek Gustafson likes the challenge of designing ski boots and the way his job gives him the opportunity to work on a product that fits with his passion for skiing. How to break in: “Be sure that in addition to feeding the passion for the sport, you make sure you delve deeply into other interests because ultimately being well rounded is pretty important as you try to find a way to contribute to skiing and the outdoor industry,” says Gustafson, who has a physics degree and worked for 12 years at a molded plastic design company before designing boots. He recommends a background in design, a degree is best, and an internship if possible.

No. 7: Ski resort social media manager
A typical day in the life of someone who does social media for a ski resort? Update the website, ski, check ad campaigns, ski, post a blog, ski, update Facebook, ski, head to après ski, check Twitter. “It’s an awesome job,” says John Beal, the online marketing and social media coordinator for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. “I look out my window and see the tram flying by every 10 minutes. Powder clause is in full effect. Lots of free gear. Meeting and skiing with lots of pro athletes, photographers, and film crews. We ski hard and we work just as hard.” How to break in: A background in marketing, web design, or online marketing will help. Beal volunteered as a mountain host at Jackson Hole and got a good recommendation when the position became available.

No. 8: Ski shop employee
Working in a ski shop comes with lots of perks: Free ski tuning, endless piles of free gear, testing skis before they’re available to the public, and powder-day clauses. “It’s a great job,” says Ryan Ahern, 27, who’s worked at Golden, Colorado’s Bent Gate Mountaineering shop for the past two years. “It’s nice selling products that you actually use and selling them to people who are passionate about the same thing. You get to talk gear all day long.” The bummer: You’ll do this job for the swag, not the paycheck. “We definitely aren’t doing the job because it pays incredible,” says Ahern. “But we get great deals on skis. Most everyone who works here gets a couple pairs of new skis every year.” To get a ski shop job, you’ll need retail experience or experience working with customers, and gear and ski knowledge.

No. 9: Pro skier
Everyone wants to be a pro skier. The perks are endless: skiing in the best locations for free, traveling the world, piles of gear, autograph signings, film segments, and being surrounded by people who have just as much enthusiasm for the sport that you do. “It’s pretty much the ultimate job,” says pro skier Mike Douglas. “It’s all about skiing the best stuff. It’s pretty hard to get tired of this.” How to get into it: Douglas advises that the best way toward becoming a pro is to get involved in competitions—sign up for a local big-mountain comp and work your way up to a stop on the Freeskiing World Tour—and begin to prove yourself against other skiers. Attend the SIA ski trade show in Denver next winter, armed with a ski resume and prepared to market yourself to potential sponsors. Make a ‘Sponsor Me’ clip on YouTube and starting trying to shoot with professional photographers. You have to show your stuff, and only ski because you love it. He says that networking could be important, but it goes even deeper then this. “It’s really all about your talent and willingness to go bigger,” he says.

No. 10: Marketing manager
Doing marketing for a company that makes vacuum cleaners may be dull. But imagine doing marketing for a company that makes ski gear? Pretty easy stuff to get excited about, if you ask us. A typical marketing job for a ski gear company could include everything from doing public relations with media, managing the athlete team and website, writing the catalogue and press releases, traveling to events, preparing skis for magazine tests, sending gear to pro athletes, setting up photo shoots, and much more. “I get to work directly with some of skiing’s top pros, I get to witness some of the best comp riding on the planet, I get to see once in a lifetime action go down on film, and I get to ski in some of the best spots on the planet,” says Mike Nick, the Sports Marketing Director for Orage, a ski apparel company. “It doesn’t get much better than that.” How to break in: You’ll need experience in marketing or PR, strong communication and writing skills, and a ski background.

It’s silent. There’s an extraordinary sense of open space, and looking around, you see nothing but snow-covered mountains for miles. You’re 12,000 feet high, standing on one of the tallest, most vertical mountaintops in sight, and you’re about to ski down this thing.

“There’s not a day that goes by where I’m not excited to get back in that helicopter, back on that mountain and do the same thing all over again” said Joe Royer, president of the Heli Ski US Association and owner of Ruby Mountain Helicopter Skiing. “I want to involve more people that have passed on it because they didn’t think they had the ability to heli-ski. That’s our market right now.”

Charles Veley,  the world’s most traveled man, has been to 823 of the world’s 872 countries, territories, enclaves, islands, provinces and autonomous regions. He and other globetrotters share tips for

In heli-skiing, helicopters replace ski lifts, making the bounds of height and location virtually limitless.

This season, well-known heli-ski operators like Canadian Mountain Holidays and Bella Coola Helisports, usually known for attracting extreme skiers, are gearing marketing efforts toward intermediate skiers. But is this experience really for everyone?

What to expect
In 2009-10, there were about 7 million skiers and 6.2 million snowboarders in the United States, according to the National Ski Areas Association. In contrast, there were about 95,000 heli-skiers in Canada and the United States during that same season, Royer said.

A heli-skiing trip can last a day or be a multiple-night stay. Some heli-ski operators provide lodging in a small city at the foot of the mountains, while others are amidst the mountains, reachable only by helicopter.

Participants are given a tutorial on safety, specifically covering natural opposition such as tree wells and avalanches. Each skier is provided with a safety kit composed of a shovel, avalanche probe and transceiver, all precautionary items in case of snowy mishaps.

Once skiers arrive at the ski destination, the helicopters land and the skiers exit the aircraft. Contrary to ski film depictions, skiers do not jump out of the aircraft. The helicopter is merely a means of transportation.

All heli-skiers are accompanied by a guide who is highly skilled in rescue, assessing terrain and skier skill level.

“From a comfort and ski ability standpoint, it’s all about grouping skiers,” said Chris Owens, EpicQuest’s vice president of operations. “We run small helicopters with four skiers and a guide in each. Small groups make it pretty easy to get good matches.” For companies like EpicQuest, small groups of skiers are matched based on ability and experience.

Listen to the guide
The difference between heli-skiing and resort skiing is the terrain and the environment. Heli-skiing provides open terrain, away from the busy resort slopes. As far as avalanches are concerned, statistics for top heli-ski operator, Canadian Mountain Holidays, shows surprisingly low occurrence. “For 46 years and over 8 million runs with guests, there have been 10 fatal avalanches,” according to the company’s data.

But for any operator, 10 avalanches is 10 too many. To avoid accidents, skiers must heed the most important piece of advice: Listen to your guide.

Advanced heli-skier John Creason of Seattle recalled an injury. “Two years ago, I got hurt. When I look back, I feel it was my fault. I was in the resort mindset, skiing way too fast with poor visibility.”

Powder snow is thick and very deep, Creason said, and without speed, it can be very difficult to push through. If he had listened more closely to his guide, he feels the injury could have been avoided. “It was my fault … I wasn’t there to hear the guide, and I was going way too fast for those conditions.”

But has the experience deterred him from returning? No. He’s already booked a heli-skiing trip for the upcoming ski season.

Blue-square skiers
Many intermediate skiers, who often have only a few weeks a year to get on the slopes, find it difficult to further hone their skills. Even with 15 years experience, a skier may remain stagnantly intermediate.

“I wouldn’t encourage intermediate skiers to go,” said Aaron Brill, co-owner of Silverton Mountain, Colo. “There are people who do, but I’m not one of them.”

However, his reasoning is not what one might expect. “It’s not necessarily a safety thing. You will enjoy the mountains, you will enjoy the view, but an intermediate skier would probably be wasting their money.”

Two-time intermediate heli-skier Kris Bowers of Orange County, Calif., disagrees. “It is absolutely worth the money,” she said. “I know this sounds over the top, but it really is the trip of a lifetime.”

Bowers did not feel unsafe or uncomfortable with the guides present to steer her in the right direction. “The false thought I had was, is it unsafe? But I felt totally safe. The guide would check it all out. I was afraid I would be put in tough situations, but everything I was doing was very intermediate and [things] I would never experience at a resort.”

Plan financially and physically
You’re paying for an experience, not simply a vacation. Most well-known lodges include all meals, accommodations, full transportation from airport to lodge, ski guides, helicopter maintenance and personnel, skis and all other necessary equipment.

It is expensive. But heli-skiing is not a trip you take on a whim. There is planning both financially and physically.

“The high altitude can cause fatigue, dehydration and weakness, especially for older skiers,” said Dr. Thomas Vangsness, a sport medicine physician. And as this is an expensive sport, many skiers are older. “Even great skiers hurt themselves. It’s ungroomed nature and hidden problems that cause higher risk.”

This is not a leisure run down a beginner’s trail. It is a full-body, physically demanding sport that requires participants to be healthy and in shape to enjoy.

The experience
Before planning your trip, do the necessary research. Helicat Canada is dedicated to “establishing (the highest) operations, guide and safety guidelines for Helicopter Skiing in Canada.”

Consider cost, location and reputability. Ddo your research, get in shape and save up your money. “You just have to bite the bullet and go,” said Chris Anthony, a Warren Miller athlete and author of ”Dream Season: Worldwide Guide to Heli & Cat Skiing/Boarding.” “It’s something you should cross off your bucket list.”

On December 4th, the guides reported knee deep powder, sunny skies and a base of 180 cm snow pack in the lower alpine. Forecasts this week suggest over a metre of powder is on its way to the Mountains in Bella Coola. Wahooo! I would love to be one of those lucky people heading to Bella Coola in the next couple of weeks. One thing is for sure it’s going to be a white Christmas.

Check out the Bella Coola weather report from the weather network, why not plan to come skiing in Bella Coola Helisports in BC, Canada this winter!

With a lot of great video and photography from Bella Coola featured the site is both informative and inspiring! There is a lot o great heli skiing out there that is for sure. Check it out here – more details about heli skiing in Bella Coola, BC, Canada and for information click here Pantheon heli skiing

Both destinations featured really favourable write ups. To quote the site they describe the Pantheons as:

“These are BC’s biggest mountains with huge vertical relief and some of the longest heliski runs in Canada. Home to British Columbia’s highest peak, Mt. Waddington (4,019 m), the region is humbling on a scale difficult to imagine.”

And they go further to describe skiing in Bella Coola as:

“Set in the heart British Columbia’s Coast Mountains a mere one and a quarter hour flight from Vancouver, is the magical Bella Coola valley – home to Bella Coola Heliskiing and to The Nuxalk First Nations people who first settled here thousands of years ago . The minute you step of the plane, it is clear you have arrived somewhere special.“

Well done to EA for putting together a great site and showcasing what are clearly the most intimate small group and boutique heli skiing destinations in the world.

EA Heli Skiing

The combination of abundant snowfall, cool temperatures and regular breaks in weather systems make British Columbia, Canada ideal for heliskiing and snowboarding. Heliski operators are scattered throughout British Columbia north to south and east to west. In effect, all operators offer the same base experience: they all access vast expanses of terrain by helicopter in order to ski un-tracked snow!

If you can ski intermediate slopes at your ski area, then you can heli ski! If you have ever dreamed of going heli skiing in the mountains; if you have seen the movies of heli skiing and doubted whether your have the ability to do it – well you can go heli skiing or heli boarding in BC.

Heli Skiing Action

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.

Heli Skiing Fun

Arriving in Bella Coola on a bright Sunday afternoon the mountains were a sight to behold. With over 30cms of fresh snow having fallen the previous evening the stage was set. I nervously introduced myself to my fellow touring companions. A group of three friends from Alberta.

The week prior I had no idea whom I was going to be touring with. I had been a bit nervous that I was going to be tagging a long with a bunch of super fit and ambitious types, who would grind me into a pulp…

After our morning drop (heli drop that is) on the first day and the 4,000 ft decent through epic deep pow, I was happy to start touring. Stability was excellent and the pace was fine. The whole day was spent exploring vast glaciers and skiing deep 45 degree lines.

At days end we flew back to base. After hoping out of the heli and walking all of about 20 feet… I was handed a cold beer and invited to tasty treats on the super scenic “apres deck” at Tweedsmuir Park Lodge. Ski touring gives me a mean hunger and luckily for me I was in the right place. Sara and the kitchen staff at TPL are amazing chefs. The food is five star and there is plenty of it.

Not many of our fellow lodge mates (another two groups of heli skiers) were too keen to get too close to us at the end of each day. Fair enough we definitely earned some turns even if we were getting dropped (in a heli – crazy) up and back each day.

And so it went. Each day was more of the same. Stunning mountains, amazing terrain, great snow and stability and lots of awesome skiing. The whole Bella Coola Helisport experience is something else. All of the chalets are super comfortable and did I mention the food?

Then of course there is Swede too…

So after being suitably spoiled for the week I was really excited to have been a part of it all. Who wouldn’t have been right? I do believe that there is a growing market for Heli Assisted Ski Touring as a more participatory and experiential backcountry skiing adventure. Naturally, I am hoping to get back up to Bella Coola for next spring but we will have to get lots of keen skiers signed up via the web site in the interim.

Heli Assisted Ski Touring in Bella Coola