Being brought to the top of a mountain by helicopter is for many experienced off piste skiers the ultimate dream. For them, the ski elevator is the only means of transportation that brought them to the top of the mountain. To be taken by helicopter to a special place seems only something for the extremely rich. But nothing could be further from the truth. Achieving this bucket list thing has become accessible to the majority of winter sportsmen and women. From 135 euros you can make the first tracks in the fresh snow under guidance.
What exactly does heli Skiing mean ?
This is an abbreviation of helicopter skiing. In this form of winter sports one is dropped off by helicopter in places that are normally inaccessible. This is generally done with an experienced guide who knows all the ins and outs of the area. Then you put the first track in de fresh snow with your skis or snowboard. Heliskiing became the adventurous variant of piste skiing in the nineties.
5 misconceptions about heliskiing
“I really don’t dare jump out of a helicopter!”
That’s just as convenient. This “unfortunately” only happens in movies. Jumping out of the helicopter is even forbidden in almost all heliski companies. The helicopter makes a landing and everyone can get out of the helicopter quietly.
“Heliskiing is priceless! 10,000 dollars is the minimum you will lose !
Of course you can always make it as crazy as you want. It is of course a bit more expensive than an average winter sport. But of course you also get an unforgettable adventure in return that is more accessible than you previously thought.
The costs for a one time heli trip to a place where you can’t come in any other way start from 300 euros. For example, for a 4 day Heliski vacation in Canada you will lose 3000 dollars.
“Heliskiing is something they do on youtube movies, something for the real pro’s”.
Not true, it is accessible to everyone who has ever stood on skis. Of course it depends on which descent is taken. But of course this also applies on the normal piste.
To give you an idea of the different groups that are received, the age difference varies from 8 to 85 years.
Nowadays trips are even organized for physically challenged snowboarders.
“day trips or single flights are more advantageous”.
When you go on heli skiing vacations it is tempting to book separate flights because the price seems to be considerably lower. If you plan to do this only once, this is definitely a good buy as well.
If you want to do it a whole vacation it is recommended to book a package. The guide tunes the trip much better to the qualities of the group. In addition, there is also time for lunch at one of the beautiful viewpoints that the guide has selected.
“Due to avalanches, heliskiing is extremely dangerous.”
The heliskiing organizations have professional guide teams attached to them. These guides are affiliated worldwide with an association that guarantees the quality of these people. They have years of experience with this way of skiing. So they all have a snow and avalanche risk management system. The quality / structure of the snow and weather are continuously monitored to calculate the probability of avalanches. With these constant measurements, your safety is maximally guaranteed.
Where is it possible and what are the price differences.
Italy
The european number 1 place to go heliskiing : Livigno Italy. Livigno owes its 1st place to the attractive prices. So you can drop you 2 times for 275 euros. In addition, it has 115 kilometers of normal slopes. which indicates that it is a fairly large area. So are the 2 highest peaks at about 2800 meters altitude.
North America
The large areas in North America to go heli-skiing: the Tyax Mountain Lake Resort an area of 3500 km ². This area is located in the south of the Chilcotin Mountains near British Columbia. The temperature during the winter sports season is between -15° and -25°. These are average temperatures, but it can be -40°.
You can choose a heli-ski trip of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7 days. Only two groups are transported by helicopter, so long waiting times are avoided. Prices vary from 6250 EURO to 6853 EURO for a week of heli-skiing.
New Zealand
In New Zealand you can actually heli-ski anywhere. There are seven large areas with a total area of 3000 km². The descents for heli-skiers have a length of two to four kilometers. A nice area to try the heli-skiing is the area around Wanaka and Queenstown, situated on a number of lakes with beautiful nature. A large ski region with heli-ski areas and a large number of ski areas are: Cardrona, Coronet Peak and Trebel Crone. If the heli-skiing alone is not enough then you can also go bungee jumping in this area.
Canada
There are great opportunities for a heli-ski experience in Canada. The organization Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH) offers many trips. Famous areas there are Adamants, Bobbie Burns and Bugaboo. CMH has different types of accommodations in these areas.
Adamants is a large area located in the Selkirk mountains. Because of the many and good snow Adamants has a long winter sports season. For the non-heli-skier there is at an altitude between 900 and 3100 meters, with 150 slopes, plenty to do when it comes to skiing.
Bobbie Burns offers skiing opportunities in two mountains: Selkirk and Purcell. There are many different slopes, so there are always good snow conditions to be found. The altitude varies from 1370 to 3050 meters.
The Bugaboo area is located in the Purcell Mountains. This is also a large area located at 1490 meters. Skiing can be from 945 meters to 3050 meters. Also here is for the ‘normal’ skier enough to discover.
Other areas that are suitable for heli-skiing in Canada are Cariboos, Galena, Gothics, Kootenay and Valemount. The mountains in which these regions are located are the Selkirks, Purcell, Cariboos and Monashees. All these areas have an enormous area of ski slopes: varying from 1600 to 3500 km².
Conclusion
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