Heli-skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing or snowboarding where the skier reaches the top of the mountain by helicopter, instead of a ski lift.
Heli-skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing or snowboarding where the skier reaches the top of the mountain by helicopter, instead of a ski lift.
In the late 1950s, helicopters were used in Alaska and Europe to access remote terrain. The idea of heliskiing first came from a Canadian geologist Art Patterson. Patterson used helicopters for his works during summer, however, he noticed that during winter time there was no use for the helicopters. Since he was a enthusiastic skier, he thought about using the helicopters to transport skiers to the top of the mountains. He teamed up with Hans Gmoser who was a experienced mountain guide and created a business together. They charged 20$ for their first day of heliskiing, however, due to unfavorable weather conditions and a small Bell 47G-2 helicopter, Patterson decided the business is too risky and withdrew from the venture. [1] However, Gmoser continued in the business idea and in 1965 commercialized the activity in Canada by founding CMH, Canadian Mountain Holidays, a heliskiing company which combined lodging, transport and guiding. The biggest growth in heliskiing was in the 1970s and 1980s, when this type of skiing became widely commercialized. [2]
Heliskiing presents more dangers than conventional slope skiing. A major safety concern while heliskiing is the danger of an avalanche. There are several techniques that increase safety in wild terrain, such as the usage of explosives to intentionally create an avalanche or the more common techniques of avoiding dangerous ski slopes. Another common risk are tree wells. [3] It is standard to use different types of safety equipment, such as avalanche transceivers, probes or shovels, that help to locate and free a person buried under snow. More modern safety equipment is an avalanche airbag, which can be manually triggered when a skier gets into an avalanche. The mechanism located in the skiers backpack then inflates a big airbag around the skiers body, which then lifts the skier to the surface of the avalanche. [4] Another important rule while skiing off trail is to never ski alone, but rather in a group, so in case of an avalanche or other incident there are people who can immediately help the skier. Avalanche safety courses are a common way on how to increase safety, as these courses teach the skier how to read the snow, how to tell which slopes are dangerous and which not, learn how to navigate in terrain, how to predict weather and other skills. [5]
Most popular heliskiing locations can be found in the European Alps, with the Swiss Zermatt being the most visited location. In Switzerland there are an estimated 15,000 heliskiing flights each year, to 42 landing sites. [6] In Northern America the most popular areas for heliskiing are British Columbia and Alaska. [7] Other popular heliski destinations are Kamchatka in Russia or Hokkaido in Japan. In Turkey, heliskiing is done on the Kaçkar Mountains. [8] Austria allows only one landing site. [9]
There are two main types of heliskiing experience. First one is lodge-based, where skiers live in a lodge in wilderness and do ski trips from there. These packages are usually for 5–7 days and can cost around 10 000$. The second option is day heli-skiing, which includes only one day of skiing without accommodation, most usually available during a typical resort-based ski experience. Equipment such as freeride skis, poles and safety gear is usually included in the price. [10]
In 2010 Switzerland's major environmental groups, including the Worldwide Fund for Nature, handed a petition with over 15,000 signatures to the Swiss government, demanding a ban on heliskiing. [6] Heliskiing is banned in Germany and was banned in France in 1985. [11]
A common misconception is that a skier has to jump off the helicopter while it is still in the air. However, in a typical heli-ski run the helicopter has a predetermined drop-off location where it lands and allows all members to safely exit the helicopter. Another misconception is that skiers jump off cliffs and ski on steep and dangerous slopes. However, in a typical heli-ski run there are small groups of skiers that have their own guides who know routes that have been chosen in advance and test the snowpack to confirm it is safe. The group can usually choose how challenging they want the run to be. [12]
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, other animals, and earthquakes. Primarily composed of flowing snow and air, large avalanches have the capability to capture and move ice, rocks, and trees.
Ski mountaineering is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipment used, free-heel Telemark skis and skis based on Alpine skis, where the heel is free for ascents, but is fixed during descent. The discipline may be practiced recreationally or as a competitive sport.
Ski patrols are organizations that provide medical, rescue, and hazard prevention services to the injured in ski area boundaries, or sometimes beyond into backcountry settings. Many have technical-medical certifications, such as Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) provided by the National Ski Patrol (USA), that are specific to the winter-season environment and providing emergency medical services in remote locations. Many patrollers also hold EMS issued credentials, such as emergency medical technician or any other pre-hospital care certification. Due to the remote location and terrain, transportation is often limited to Rescue toboggan, snowmobile, or, for life-compromising injuries or extremely remote terrain, helicopter rescue. Depending on the ski area terrain, ski patrollers can be versed in a large variety of specialized rescues, such as avalanche search and rescue, outdoor emergency transportation, chairlift evacuation, and, in some cases, helicopter rescue techniques are taught. Patrols work to promote ski safety, enforce area policies, and help the injured within their jurisdiction. Ski patrollers also work to set up the mountain before it opens by conducting trail checks, providing avalanche control work, and setting up necessary equipment in preparation for the day. At the end of the day, they also conduct a sweep clearing the mountain for off-hours.
Ski touring is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-piste and outside of ski resorts, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar to backcountry skiing but excludes the use of a ski lift or transport.
Backcountry skiing (US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, freeriding or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing, which is typically done on groomed trails benefiting from a ski patrol. Unlike ski touring, backcountry skiing can – and often does – include the use of ski lifts including snowcats and helicopters. Recent improvements in equipment have increased the popularity of the sport. As the sport does confront the individual practicing it with the dangers of natural, unprepared alpine terrain like avalanches, it is generally recommended to carry standard safety equipment and to learn beforehand how to behave safely under such conditions.
Freeriding is a style of skiing or snowboarding performed on natural, un-groomed terrain, without a set course, goals or rules. It evolved throughout the sport's formative years as a contrary response to the highly regimented style of ski competition prevalent at the time. Snowboarders primarily refer to freeriding as backcountry, sidecountry, or off-piste snowboarding, and sometimes big mountain or extreme riding.
Freeskiing, or new school skiing, is a specific type of alpine skiing, which involves tricks, jumps, and terrain park features, such as rails, boxes, jibs, or other obstacles. This form of skiing resulted from the growth of snowboarding combined with the progression of freestyle skiing. "Newschoolers", or those who specifically ski in this style, as opposed to traditional freestylers, freeriders, big mountain skiers, and racers, are often found in terrain parks, which are designed specifically for tricks.
Johann Wolfgang "Hans" Gmoser, CM was a founder of modern mountaineering in Canada. Born in Austria in 1932, he came to Canada in 1951, and was a major driving force behind the growing popularity of climbing, skiing and guiding.
Invincible Snowfields is a private ski resort near Glenorchy in the South Island of New Zealand.
New Zealand is a major skiing destination in the Southern Hemisphere, due to its high latitude, mountainous terrain, and well-developed economy and tourism industry. The ski season in New Zealand starts in mid June and in good winters can run through to the start of November.
Backcountry snowboarding is snowboarding in a sparsely inhabited rural region over ungroomed and unmarked slopes or pistes in the backcountry, frequently amongst trees, usually in pursuit of fresh fallen snow, known as powder. Often, the land and the snow pack are not monitored, patrolled, or maintained. Fixed mechanical means of ascent such as ski lifts are typically not present, but alternative means such as splitboarding, hiking, snowshoeing and helicopters ("heliskiing") are sometimes used to reach the mountain's peak.
Sylvain Saudan was a Swiss extreme skier, dubbed "skier of the impossible." He was noted for skiing down large and steep mountains, including those in the Himalayas, North America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 1982, he entered the Guinness Book of World Records for descending the highest and steepest slope ever skied.
Avalanche rescue involves locating and retrieving people who have been buried in avalanches.
Mica Heli Guides or "Mica Heliskiing" is a backcountry heliskiing lodge located on Kinbasket Lake across from Mica Dam in British Columbia, Canada. Mica Heli Guides is located about two hours drive north of the town of Revelstoke.
Silverton Mountain is a ski area near Silverton, Colorado, United States that opened on January 19, 2002. Popular with skiers and snowboarders, Silverton Mountain has one chairlift that carries visitors into its terrain, which is for advanced and expert skiers or riders. Avalanche gear is required to ride the lift at all times due to the unpatrolled and ungroomed nature of Silverton. In addition to Silverton Mountain's 1,819 acres of lift accessed skiing, Silverton also serves as a base area for over 22,000 acres of helicopter accessed skiing. Uniquely, Silverton is only open Thursday through Sunday from December through April.
Northern Escape Heli-skiing is a heliskiing company that was founded in 2004. They are located in Northern British Columbia's Skeena Mountains and centered in the town of Terrace. They have had several film crews, such as Matchstick Productions and Standard Films, ski/board and film on their terrain. Northern Escape has also appeared in publications such as Skier, Transworld Snowboarding, and Powder.
Last Frontier Heliskiing is a backcountry heliskiing destination located in the Skeena Mountains and Coast Mountains of Northern British Columbia. Founded in 1996, Last Frontier Heliskiing operates out of two locations: Bell 2 Lodge on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway in Bell II, and the Ripley Creek Inn, in Stewart. Last Frontier Heliskiing is a heliskiing operator within the province of British Columbia with access to 10,100 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) of skiable terrain.
This glossary of skiing and snowboarding terms is a list of definitions of terms and jargon used in skiing, snowboarding, and related winter sports.
Dominique Perret, born 20 November 1962 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, is a Swiss freeride skier, filmmaker and ski safety pioneer. He gained notoriety for skiing mountains that had been deemed "un-skiable" and was named the "best freeride skier of the century" at the 2000 Paris Board Awards.
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