4 Dream Heli-Skiing Destinations
The Cariboo, Monashee, and Rocky Mountains with Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing
Blue River sits between the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains in the heart of British Columbia’s biggest snow belt. Over 18 metres of annual snowfall bless this skiing nirvana. On the western side of the province’s interior mountains, it’s home to rare interior cedar and hemlock rain forests, diverse wildlife, and a legendary heli-ski operator.
The man in question, Mike Wiegele, was among the first to see the potential of using helicopters to access remote ski terrain. When he founded Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing in 1970, he pioneered a brand-new sector of the ski industry—and a novel way to experience mountain wilderness. You can also thank him for your wide powder skis, since he helped Atomic develop the Fat Boys in the 1990s, the first of their kind. He also set the industry’s safety standards as one of the founders of the CSGA, a training and certification program for heli-ski guides.
The business Wiegele started from scratch with a new skiing concept has grown and thrived. Over the years, thousands of skiers have flocked to Blue River from around the world—including Warren Miller, who shot many of his ski movies using the company’s transportation and guiding services. Today, the heli-ski operation takes skiers and snowboarders out into a 1.5-million-acre territory that spans the Cariboo, Monashee, and Rocky Mountains. The vast playground features stupendously deep pow, big lines on alpine terrain, groves of snow-laden evergreens, and panoramic wilderness views.
Guests refuel and rest at the service’s properties. They also enjoy gourmet fare from the resort’s chef, pre-takeoff stretching sessions, and massage therapy. A fitness centre is also available (in case you somehow need a workout after skiing 4,000 metres of chest-deep powder). The guide service provides luxurious accommodations at Blue River Resort, the European-style Albreda Lodge, or one of two log estates.
The Coast and Skeena Mountains with Last Frontier Heliskiing
Last Frontier Heliskiing guides their clients in a wild territory covering 10,100 square kilometres in northern British Columbia’s Coast and Skeena Mountains. This is one of the largest areas in the world served by a heli-ski operation; it’s more than a third the size of Switzerland. The region receives a copious 20 to 30 metres of snow annually. The operator takes skiers deep into a sublime wilderness of sprawling glaciers, vast old-growth forests, and breathtaking alpine terrain. They have named over 1,000 runs, with the longest descending more than 2,000 metres. Skiers and riders will find what they seek, whether it’s spines above treeline, spacious glades, or cliff drops.
Photo courtesy of Last Fontier Heliskiing
Last Frontier has two accommodation options. Bell 2 Lodge is a remote, off-the-grid complex nestled in the Skeena Mountains. Guests stay in cozy log cabins with soapstone woodstoves and come together to eat gourmet dinners with their guides in the main lodge. Those who wish continue the casual après-ski at the lodge’s bar or outdoor fire pits. A hot tub and sauna are available for relaxation. Guests can work on their cardio on cross-country, snowshoe, and fat bike trails. Archery, skeet shooting, and moose watching are other pastimes.
The second accommodation option is the Ripley Creek Lodge in Stewart, British Columbia, where Last Frontier houses their guests in buildings on the main strip. Meals and après-ski happen at Bitter Creek Café. Downtime activities include resting in the sauna and hot tub or strolling through the funky old mining town. Tree skiing abounds near both lodges, providing an alternative when weather prevents going farther afield.
Photo courtesy of Last Frontier Heliskiing
The Pir Panjal with Kashmir Heliski
What list of dream destinations would be complete without the Himalayas—the highest and most oneiric mountains of them all? Kashmir Heliski, locally owned and the region’s first heliski operator, takes clients into the snowy Pir Panjal Range. Skiers and riders descend couloirs, steep lines, and broad powder fields with Kashmiri and international guides. Their 22,000-square kilometre terrain includes Punch Peak. At 4,745 metres, it offers more than 2,000 metres of vertical drop.
On non-fly days, visitors have no lack of options. They can ski at the Gulmarg Ski Resort, where the world’s second-longest Gondola ascends Kongdoori Mountain. The resort is mostly off-piste skiing above treeline with a few groomed runs. The terrain includes 18 bowls. Those looking for a unique backcountry experience can ski 600 metres down from the resort to the villages of Baba Reshi, Tangmarg, or Drungg. The company’s guides lead clients through a magical forest of giant Himalayan cedars and twisted birches. The woods are teeming with wildlife; if you’ve always wanted to encounter monkeys (and sometimes even leopards—potentially adding to the challenge of tree skiing if they’re hungry) on your ski holiday, look no further! For multiple laps, you can either skin back up or take a ride in one of Kashmir Heliski’s four-wheel drive vehicles. Other downtime activities include sampling Kashmiri cuisine and renting a houseboat on Dal Lake in Srinagar. Guests stay at one of the luxury hotels at the Gulmarg resort with views of the surrounding forests and mountains.
The Troll Peninsula with Arctic Heli Skiing
Iceland’s Troll Peninsula (Tröllaskagi in Icelandic) offers up a primordial landscape of white snow, black volcanic spires, and blue seas. Skiers lay down turns on grandiose alpine terrain overlooking the Arctic Ocean. The summits top out at about 1,500 metres, but that provides plenty of vertical since many runs end at sea level.
Tröllaskagi is a dreamscape of broad ridges, steep couloirs, glaciers, and sweeping views over the fjord. The irresistibly named Hiddenland, a little-explored mountainous area in the interior, is a jewel in the region with massive mountains, gushing waterfalls, and black sand beaches. In the early season, visitors float in powder and gaze at the northern lights. In summer, they rip through corn snow and bask in the midnight sun’s otherworldly glow. And of you’re thinking about the trolls, no worries—they usually hibernate in winter.
Jökull Bergmann, the founder and owner of Arctic Heli Skiing, comes from a sheep farming family that has lived on the Troll Peninsula for over a thousand years. As a child, he began exploring the area while looking after his grandparents’ sheep. He is Iceland’s first UIAGM-IFMGA certified mountain guide. After working in the Revelstoke area, he returned home to found a guiding business in his old stomping grounds. His clients have three accommodation options, ranging from an ancient farmhouse to luxury hotels. Each has a hot tub and high-speed internet.
photo:©Grant Gunderson
When not out heli-skiing, guests can ski tour, soak in natural hot springs, fish, or go whale or puffin watching. Those interested in traditional Icelandic farm life can take a day trip to the Glaumbær Farm and Museum and explore its turf-roof homes and outbuildings. Hearty souls can surf in the Arctic Ocean. Even heartier souls can try an Icelandic delicacy—fermented Greenland shark—that really clears out the sinuses (to say the least!).
Photo: Arctic Heli Skiing
