Heli skiing, also referred to as heli boarding is the ultimate free riding and free skiing experience. It is basically riding up the mountain on a snowboard with the help of a helicopter. With the helicopter, one can move from the ground to the mountain top within only a few minutes, while enjoying spectacular views that people pay tones of dollars to view on sightseeing flights.
Contrary to the popular myth, you do not have to be an expert to enjoy heli-skiing. All you need to do is to be a confident intermediate skier with the ability to link parallel turns in variable conditions. To enjoy your heli skiing trips, you are also expected to be in good shape for the ultimate skiing experience. A good number of heli skiing companies like the Golden British Columbia offer consultation services to their clients. This implies that if you are not certain about your skiing ability level, the company’s reservation agents would be willing to assist. A good number of heli-skiing operators have access to enormous tracks of back-country terrain, giving their clients a higher probability of riding on virgin snow during their heli-skiing trips.
Heli-skiing also gives its fans a thrilling powder experience. Most companies have powder rooms where visitors get to powder their noses as well as their entire bodies. The powder is most definitely a major appeal in this thrilling skiing experience; there is plenty of it and more often than not you get to ski unbroken powder on every single run. Many people say that this sport is exclusively for the rich and famous as it costs a lot, but that is not always the case. Anyone can try heli-skiing but without a doubt it costs much more than a lift ticket. However, this experience is worth the cost considering the amount of quality powder turns offered.
Skiing terrains are selected by experts based on strict guidelines depending on the snow ability, weather conditions and the location of the best skiing powder available. Guides can also go an extra mile and identify opportunities for playing in the environment; lips, drops and kickers are recommended for those who are so inclined to the sport although it is not mandatory. More often than not skiers are grouped according to their abilities to avoid a situation whereby there are groups with varied skiing levels; small groups are preferred to larger groups as each individual gets to accurately represent his/her ability.
Amazingly, Canada pioneered heli skiing and BC Canada continues to be the home for heli-skiing to date. Visitors travel from all over the world and make heli skiing trips to this destination for its incredible dry and light snow, which falls in massive amounts. Snowfalls in this region are prolific whereby snow accumulates up to 12 to 30 meters per season, which is perfect for heli-skiing.
Mitchell Strathford is an extreme skier who never backs down from a challenge. Lately, heli skiing has been his passion and he is constantly writing about his latest experiences and giving his readers tips and info to make their trip the best it can be. These holidays he is planning a Great Canadian Heli Skiing adventure in BC and is sharing his discovery of the best heli skiing packages in the region.