Heli-Skiing

[dlague]

Has anyone been heli-skiing? We were interested in skiing Silverton this season and while looking at their website I noticed that we could actually buy heli-skiing by the run or by the day. It is $179 per run which was appealing since a whole day is $999. It would allow us to experience it a little. I was curious about the experience if someone has been.

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[Not Sure]

A long time ago "1985" Was the experience of a lifetime. Western Canada , the weather can be a big factor. We did our beacon 101 in the morning and left at 10 Am by 2:30 we had completed 10K vert .40 miles back the cloud ceiling lowered and we were almost IFR on the way back and just cleared the last pass by 100'. Cat skiing has a safety advantage, our guide mention bluebird skies are rare and they deal with the weather constantly . Colorado may have different weather but then again cat skiing may limit the terrain that is accessible.
I cant be any help price wise but if had the chance I would go again.It was an adjustment skiing deep powder but even the guide fell, getting back on your skis took some effort but all in all an awesome time. Being close gives you the chance to pick a good weather window.

 

[SIKSKIER]

I'll take catskiing anyday over heli.Did whistler Heli twice and although it was great,I liked the cat better.We had low ceiling also and had to fly just over the tree tops with marginal high winds.Nail biter and no rest by being right back up in 5 minutes along with packed in like sardines.The cat allows time to regroup,rehydrate,and eat the lunches you bring and leave on the cat.You must take everything with you off the heli.We still get 20,000 vert days for about the same price per vert/ft.I highly recommend Mustang Powder near Revelstoke and that works great to do both in one trip.http://www.mustangpowder.com/

 

[Nick]

Done it in Revelstoke, BC back in 2002 / 2003. Went with CMH (Canadian Mountain Holidays). Hands down the best skiing of my life. My dad took me and my sister at the time. I couldn't have afforded it myself, I want to say it was over $5k a person. But really just amazing skiing. Exhausing though - powder all day will do a number on your legs.

 

[boston_e]

I did a trip to Valdez in '05. We ended up with one day on the Heli and a couple of days of cat skiing (could not fly due to weather).

Fun trip, but wish we could have gotten another day or two on the heli in.

I would suggest just doing the whole day. I found that it took just the first couple of runs to get adjusted to / comfortable with the massiveness of the surroundings. I really think I would have enjoyed the 2nd day on the heli even more than the 1st.

All in all a great trip though.

 

[Not Sure]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Thomas_Scurfield

This happened to a local the day before my group went , we went anyway and near the bottom of our last run I started a small slab.The top of the run was completely different snow conditions. I always wonder how avalanche forecasts can be accurate when on the same mountain a few thousand feet lower things can differ? The guide called it though and had us go through an area that was not as steep one by one but it still slid.

 

[180]

Been heli a number of times. If you can pay the freight its usually worth every penny. Make sure you have the cat backup option. I did CMH, Wiegle, Chugach and Jackson.

 

[ExtremeRyan]

I've been heli skiing twice, once in Snowbird Utah and another time in Portillo Chile. Chile was by far the best, absolutely massive mountains out there. The overall experience was incredible, some of the best powder I've ever skied. It's very weather and condition dependent though. You also need a group of at least four people at Portillo and Snowbird. Not sure what the rules are four Silverton.

Here's a photo from Portillo


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[JimG.]

Also heli'd in Portillo; so convenient to have on property at the hotel.

Overall one of the best ski trips I've ever taken.