Heli sking!!!

wunderskier

wunderskier

Member
JEA!!

Every year we go out west with our cousins to snowbird UT. And this year,(the like 12th time we have gone, it will me my moms birthday when we are there. so my Uncle being the rocket scientist he is, though it would be cool to go heli skiing for a day. I am so stoked for it!!!!!!

Anyone got any iether, good or bad heli skiing stories

or some much needed advice for heli skiing, like what it is like..
 
i was so close to going one day but the weather was too shitty. someone else offered to pay for me that time and that time only, otherwise i'm way too poor, i just invest in touring equipment and climb the damn mountain, gets you nice and fit and you still get the pow
 
the watchwords are: "expectation management". If you think you'll be hitting the sort of lines you and i lust after in movies, you will be sorely disappointed. expect awesome views, long fun descents, hopefully great snow conditions, and a whole lot of hanging arond. have fun!
 
I have a good story.

So I was a sophomore in high school and one of my dads friends called and asked if I could take a couple weeks off. The thing is, these guys have made it big in the business world and were taking the time off to go heli skiing (two fucking weeks). Recently though, Canada had changed its border policies and was not allowing anyone in with a felony offense. One of my dad's friends had a DUI and could not go. Free heli skiing trip, two weeks. You know what my mom says? No, you cant miss that much school. Good story huh? 4 years later I am feeling even less forgiving then I was at the time~
 
ive been a few times. not like what you see in the movies unless you go with better companys that have access to that type of terrain, but its worth every penny. best days ive ever had have been heli skiing.
 
I am going for a WEEK in riksgransen, sweden in April for my first time.

I was supposed to bring my girl (i dropped some massive cash for that) but she bailed, leaving me with a ticket and some decisions. but i will make a seperate topic about that later
 
To be honest, there is a lot of just hanging out. Last year i finished up my season with a heli trip, we started the first ascent at around 10:00 before that it was like 2 hours on how to use a beacon, weighing, how to load the helicopter, how to tie down you skis and poles. we took 3 runs all day all sick fresh pow, and then they took us back to the resort at around 2, then it was slush all over the resort. I'd rather take a sled and do some backcountry. Anyways, it is definitely a feeling you don't forget.
 
this is madness1. My family goes to snowbird every year too!2.i have cousins that live there too!3.my uncle is a rocket scientist too!
 
bump
My brother and I are lookin into getting a trip together for this january for Haines, Alaska... anybody know of any good tour guides to go thru? any good deals? and any general knowledge I should know about the whole thing...
 
Heli skiing in the Wasatch is a waste of money

You will land somewhere that any competent bc skier could acess in under 2 hours. We will be standing on your peak flipping you off calling you wankers and your guide will not be able to stop us.

Your powder will be ours first

Dont forget your powder cords wanker

Tell the rocket scientist to save his money and take you heliskiing in Ak or Canada where it is worth the $$$

 
All I know is that some people have said haines is a proving ground for most pro atheletes, I understand its pretty hardcore, and if you go I am extremely jealous of you!
 
you probably know more about this then i do...but if you haven't already planned out where i would go to powder mountain to do it. it's an hour or two away from snowbird, as you probably know, but its pretty cheap and noone really goes there
 
If you're going to spend the money on Haines, you should be going later in the season. January is pretty early season, the snowpack will not be as stable and the days are much shorter (less possible flying time). All the filming is done in late March/April, so try to go around then. Note you will not be ripping the same terrain as the pro stars, but there's still a lot of sick stuff you will get if:

1) Prove yourself capable and responsible to the guide

2) Conditions are good

3) No idiots/gapers in your group that could jeopardize the safety of anyone
 
I'm gonna say the same thing about heliskiing in the wasatch. For years a lot of people have been fighting to stop the operation of motorized vehicles(helis) from operating on our nonmotorized (forest service) lands. Most people tour to escape the shit show of resorts and enjoy the peace, tranquility, and satisfaction of "earning your turns". Until you have had a heli land on top you or constantly fly over you or ski down on top you it may be hard for you to understand. Factor in the indescriminatebombing of avvy prone slopes in the name of snow stability testing

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Which destroys trees, harrasses nature (golden eagles etc) and weakens the snowpack endangering others and you have a debate that could go on for pages and has for years. WPG is bad for the Wasatch. It isn't like Canada or AK it is a fairly small mountain range with a hell of a lot of pople living close by. Tha forest service has turned a deaf ear to the repeated complaints of local skiers and enviormentalist. WPG has spent and continues tospend a lot of $$$ to influence politicians and others to continue they're operation. They have the ablity to fly away from crowded areas within an hours hike of 7 resorts, but due to fuel costs and ease they repeatedly fly/ ski in their/our backyard.

if you are lucky /blessed you may be able to hit American FK or the Sessions and experience some good skiing without the Wasatch hippies heckleing you.

[Spam] feel free to contact http://www.wasatchpowderskis.com/ cause if it's good you sure as hell want to be riding some kick ass powskis. I'll throw in the Powder cords (wink) [/spam]

Or consider Exum guides or Solitude ski resort provides AT equipment and guided trips to the same areas. The Powmow heli operation is much cheaper and operates in a less crowded area.

Hope I explained things a little better For what it's worth I go heli skiing every winter, but it's poor mans heli skiing, One ride in to a yurt a week of skinning/skiing and one ride out.

Airplanes not helis in the wasatch

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I got exactly that: the lines you see in movies. Beautiful. Bluebird. Deep. Steep.

A friend hooked us up in New Zealand and called us on the perfect day. One of the best days of my life.
 
I would also never pay to heliski in the Wasatch or for example in the European Alps or in Colorado.. just because you could access the same type of lines with a ski lift and / or some hiking. Plus the heliskiing is terrible for the environment. I would spend my money heliskiing in remote places with almost no lifts like Alaska or New Zealand.

But then if someone would give it to me as a gift.. haha.. I'd probably take it and have one hell of a time heliskiing.
 
I'm glad you got some sick skiing n NZ but it isn't really relevant to the guy's case in America. your experience is very much the exception to the rule, maybe not in NZ but certainly in lower 48 usa and bc. some of the ops in Ak will allow you to hit some real steep stuff if you prove yourself.

that being said, even in europe which in my experience is like the most pedestrian heliskiing in general, catering to really old fat rich people, there are one or two gems to be found. Heliski Valgrisenche in Italy has access to AWESOME terrain and are fairly happy to let you make the most of it once you've proven to be competent.

to the guy who wants to go to AK in Jan, it's not a bad idea- the guy that told you to go in march/april/may has a point about the snowpack but on the other hand, AK is completely zoo'd out late season. Every big snowboard and ski movie company will be there fighting over helis and there really aren't that many to go around. You, as the one-time customer and not the big returning company, could easlily get fucked over...
 
i went heli skiing in BC near golden a few years back. still think of it as the best day of my life. good luck dude.
 
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