Heli Skiing in The East-Saddleback

[deadheadskier]

It doesn't really make much sense unless they have A LOT of terrain to access. Otherwise a cat could do the job. It'd be much safer, and much, much cheaper. It's not really about getting up and down a particular mountain that makes the heli awesome, it's being able to access zones beyond where you can go with a cat. I agree there would be less environmental impact since you wouldn't have to cut cat roads but you'd still need landing areas. There aren't many mountains in the East where you couldn't take a cat, and even if you couldn't take a cat to the top, you could take it close enough that a short hike/climb would be all you'd need to summit. If this works at all it'll only be because there's enough rich people around here that don't find it cost prohibitive.

You would never ever see a snowcat on an above treeline slope like Saddleback has. With the AT going over it and all the environmentalists not thrilled with a ski area being there to begin with, it would never happen. Within announcement of plans for such an experience, the world's largest population of Bicknell's Thrush would migrate to the summit of Saddleback and stake claim to the land.

It absolutely does make more sense than a Helicopter.......but try explaining it to those mythical birds.

 

[C-Rex]

This idea seems very silly to me. Cats and snomo accessed backcountry has potential in some areas of Maine, but hunting down natural open hardwood glades in Maine takes a bit more effort than other areas of New England (we pride ourselves on our "working forest" and the forest products industry has a very noticeable presence in our woods). That said, there are some good spots if you look hard and can get access (snowmobiles are a necessity). As soon as I get my snomo running, I'm going to check out the north facing aspects on Bigelow. I live walking distance to the bigelow preserve and have done a lot of bushwack exploring on the south faces. There are a ton of open hardwood glades and cliff bands galore (especially on the west end). but being south facing, the snow quality is problematic. The slide on the north face of Crocker has good skiing too but limited vert.

The caveat with New England backcountry skiing is that you have to get on the good snow immediately after a storm - quality snow simply doesn't last with our freeze-thaw cycles, windpack, rain, etc. I personally don't bother trying to find terrain "above treeline" because it's wind scoured 95% of the time. The goods are in the woods. It's very tricky to be a New England backcountry skier. If you want powder, having a flexible work/family schedule is infinitely more important than being able to afford a helicopter or have fancy AT gear and such. You simply need to be able to drop what you are doing and go right after a storm. Wait a day and it's probably too late.

That's my thoughts. BTW, I'm new on here. If any of you are interested in backcountry skiing in the Maine High Peaks Region of Franklin County, let me know. Helis are for an exclusive group that can afford them and the idea doesn't really interest or affect me in any way. I'd be interested in forming some kind of group, or club that serves real Maine backcountry skiers (although I may be a lone wolf here - I don't see too many other skiers in the woods). There are immediate needs: Like opening up the AT trailhead in Wyman in the winter months so skiers have an access point. I worked on this about 3 years ago but my lone voice got me nowhere. If we want backcountry skiing to have a real presence in Maine (aside from MH&T) we need to organize or at least get together and do some skiing!

Welcome to the forums! It's always nice to have more experienced backcountry guys around.

DHS, I definitely agree. The environmentalists would never have it. At the same time, I can't see someone spending the money to heli in New England when you could go to AK, BC, or even just out west and ski much better snow and terrain. Unless it was substantially less expensive, but I don't see how it could be. When you're spending $10k+ on a week of skiing, what's another $500-$1000 for a plane ticket?

It's not that I wouldn't like to see it, but I'd be happy with just more cat access skiing/riding in New England.

 

[Rutecki]

Heli skiing in the East makes no sense to me. I don't get it. Best of luck to them.

I'd love to see more mountains offering First Tracks (or whatever they call it) at Sugarbush, where you can buy a spot on a snowcat for a few rides before the chairs open on powder days. Or even an area of a mountain that is only cat accessible, and you pay per ride (like at Powder Mountain).

 

[tipsdown]

I think the snow cat idea seems more logical. When Warren Cook was running the show at Saddleback, he talked about opening up access to the back side of Saddleback.. He was passionate about mountaineering and wanted to bring more of that to the are. Details were fuzzy but the rough idea was to get access via snow cat. I don't see a snow ca at he summit but they'd be able to get a cat to bring you back to the front side at the bottom of the run...There would need be some organized thinning at tree line for this to work but the terrain off the back side is the real deal. It would offer up a very unique experience.

This has lost momentum since Cook left and the Berry’s have put the mountain on the market but I’d like to see it revived at some point. If this can be done in an economic friendly way, I think there’s a real market for something like this…

As for snow quality on South facing slopes, you’re right, it can be fickle. But speaking specifically about Saddleback, it sets up as well as any south facing slope.The prevailing winds that the front side of the mountain faces are NW so it deposits piles and piles of snow off the back of the mountain. I’ve been back there numerous times in March/April and snow quality was rarely in issue.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Makes more sense in the Chic Chocs where access is limited and there's extended terrain above tree line and some areas resembling more typical western terrain.

Not that it matters to me or 99.99+ % of skiers anyway.

 

[ironhippy]

Makes more sense in the Chic Chocs where access is limited and there's extended terrain above tree line and some areas resembling more typical western terrain.

Not that it matters to me or 99.99+ % of skiers anyway.

I'm heading to the Chic-Chocs tomorrow.

I will not be heli skiing.

 

[bdfreetuna]

I'm heading to the Chic-Chocs tomorrow.

I will not be heli skiing.

Awesome. Take some pics for us

 

[catsup948]

Chic chocs are on my list of places I have to ski. No helis or cats for me though.

 

[C-Rex]

What are chic chocs?

 

[AdironRider]

Why would someone pay to heli ski East Coast snow? If you are investing that kinda cash you go to BC or AK.

 

[ironhippy]

What are chic chocs?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chic-Choc_Mountains

Eastern Quebec, between northern Quebec and New Brunswick, just south of the Saint Lawerance River.

5-6 hours north of my house

 

[Rowsdower]

Basically, the climate in that part of maritime Canada is so harsh it brings the treeline down below 2,000ft. On the highest peaks in the range that can mean 1,000+ft of vert above the treeline. It's pretty unique for the east coast, and probably rivals Mt. Washington as one of the few places you can really ride big mountain terrain similar to what you'd find out west. The only issue is its remoteness, requiring you to either hike or take a snowcat/heli in. It's real backcountry up there.

 

[AdironRider]

Looks pretty crowded for "backcountry" based on those pics right above your post.

Still fun though up there. Last time I was there was 10 years ago and didn't see a soul. Heard its getting a lot more popular though, which seems true based on the pics here.

 

[Rowsdower]

Looks pretty crowded for "backcountry" based on those pics right above your post.

Still fun though up there. Last time I was there was 10 years ago and didn't see a soul. Heard its getting a lot more popular though, which seems true based on the pics here.

I think we might have different definitions of crowded.

Are AZ skiers loners or something?

 

[AdironRider]

I think we might have different definitions of crowded.

Are AZ skiers loners or something?

There are 15 people in that one photo alone. I'm not a loner, but I skied lift served with fewer people this morning.

 

[deadheadskier]

translated: I'm a Jackson Hole elitist. :lol:

 

[AdironRider]

translated: I'm a Jackson Hole elitist. :lol:

Well we certainly don't have I-70 crowds, but JHole does 550k skier visits a year, which is well above my old stomping grounds of Cannon and Whiteface, probably more than both of them combined, which is a bit odd and does grind my gears a bit, being in Wyoming and all.

I wonder how many ski areas can say they get more skier visits in a year than the total population of that state? I'm guessing Jhole, and possibly Kmart are the only places that can say so.

 

[fbrissette]

There are 15 people in that one photo alone. I'm not a loner, but I skied lift served with fewer people this morning.

I've skied the chic chocs several times. The above pic is strange. You're unlikely to see anyone on a typical day. Comparing these mountains to a ski resort, no matter how empty it is,
is ridiculous.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Looks pretty crowded for "backcountry" based on those pics right above your post.

Crowded like Mount Everest on a bad weather day.

Ironhippy those pics look so sweet! Please document your journey up there! Chic Chocs are #1 on my list of remote / expensive / challenging places to ski. Bucket list material, basically.

 

[ironhippy]

let's make it clear, I'm just going to lift served terrain and maybe some light hiking to easy to access terrain. Ski touring is the key up there and I don't have healthy enough legs to truly get out there.

Re: the pic with all the people, I'm willing to bet money they are all part of the same group. I just google imaged searched

The closest hospital is 3 - 4 hours away by car and the closest trauma unit would be 6 hours away. Avalanches and tree wells are real dangers and it gets cold there, real cold with moisture and lots of wind.

I can't wait.

Oh and the place I'll be at on the weekend is closed during the week and they are expecting 40 cms of snow tomorrow: http://weather.gc.ca/warnings/report_e.html?qc34#2015346731270476803201502240504