Heli skiing Alaska - is it worth it?

J

justskier

New member
Hello, everybody!
I've read so many beautiful TR's about heli skiing in Alaska.
Do you think this is an activity reserved only for a very accomplished skier?
How good should one be so that it is really worth it for him to go on a heli trip to Alaska?

Share you experiences please and thanks in advance.
 
jamesdeluxe":2i84u0s7 said:
Don't forget to post this question in the Midwest Forum too.
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1. The poster is from Russia -- cut him/her some slack on the language thing.
2. The poster first posted in the General Discussion section. I moved it to Western with a "shadow topic" link where it was originally posted. That's why it appears to have been posted twice, even though all that remains in General is a symbolic link to the thread in the Western section.
 
Admin, thanks for your assistance.=))
How bout answering the question in substance?? :twisted:

Uff, sorry, I guess it should be posted in Asia food forums.
 
My feature article from March 2007 trip to Alyeska/Chugach Powder Guides: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/News/2 ... er-Guides/

I only had one day in the heli and my son had 2. For any cat or heli trip it depends upon the composition of the group, as pace and terrain will be dictated by the slowest member. CPG does use A-Stars, which is only 4 skiers + 1 guide per group. The small group size makes compatibility easier to arrange. That said, Alaska does tend to attract stronger skiers and riders and with the epic conditions we had we would not have appreciated being held back.

I would say comfortable in powder and with lift served steeps. You're not going to be skiing the extreme stuff you see in the films unless you're on a multiday trip and have demonstrated your skills early on. And you would still need weather and snow stability to cooperate. My day the snow was so fresh and deep the runs were no steeper than 30-35 degrees. My son's second day 3 days later snow had stabilized more, so he had some sustained 40+ degree pitches. The coastal snowpack of Alaska is usually more stable than interior Canada, so your odds of getting to ski steeps are higher.

I don't think any FTO regulars have skied at Valdez or elsewhere in Alaska, but if so they are welcome to chime in.
 
Thank you, Tony! As I said another beautiful TR.
It looks like you were not humbled in any way, just had fun, didn't you?
 
just had fun, didn't you?
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Let's just say that the snow conditions on that trip offset a few of my well-known dry excursions to Utah.

The heli day was $1,100 with the overrun of the 20K vertical guarantee. Clearly one of my 2 best ski days lifetime, definitely worth it.
 
I have never Heli skied in Alaska.
I have Heli skied in BC. In the early 90's I skied with Kootenay Heli Skiing out of Nakusp,BC...It was the single best ski week I have ever had, mind you I was not the greatest powder skier and still not. This was before the fat powder skis of today .We had about 50% down time because of the weather and never skied above the tree line. Still I had just a fabulous time..If you have the time and money go for it , you wouldn't regret it.
 
Kootenay is now run by CMH, but in the same manner as before, 3 and 4 day trips. I was on a 3 day trip there in March 2002, lost one of those to weather.
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Kootenay's terrain is predominantly trees, even when the weather is good. But outstanding trees, as is characteristic of most of the Selkirks.
 
Not that heli skiing is remotely in the cards for me, but do they all work the same way? I always understood that you pay per day and they guarantee a certain amount of vertical, after which you have to pay more for additional drops?

Do you get a refund if, for whatever reason, they don't deliver as much vertical as you paid for... or is it "buyer beware?"
 
jamesdeluxe":1nti6vya said:
Not that heli skiing is remotely in the cards for me, but do they all work the same way? I always understood that you pay per day and they guarantee a certain amount of vertical, after which you have to pay more for additional drops?

Do you get a refund if, for whatever reason, they don't deliver as much vertical as you paid for... or is it "buyer beware?"
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Here's a link to a CMH brochure (PDF file) that explains all that in detail:
http://www.canadianmountainholidays.com/publisher_page_files/0000/0093/2009_ski_pl.pdf

[I used CMH merely as an example. Obviously they're not Alaska. I'd suspect that other operations also have some kind of refund policy, but as you can see with CMH, it's only a partial refund, and certain types of refund must be left on account with CMH.]
 
There's a minimum vertical guarantee below which you are refunded and a maximum beyond which you will be surcharged, in both cases $ per vertical difference. In the case of Chugach Powder Guides the minimum was 16,000 and the maximum 20,000. CMH the max is generally 100,000 for a week. Prorata that's ~16,000 per day which is a common maximum in Canada for multiday packages. Wiegele does not surcharge for overruning vertical. I hit 100,000 on the nose when I was there a week in 2006 but skied 41,000 in 2 days there in 2007. I got price reductions in the 2 out of 3 days situation at Kootenay and also a 1 out of 2 at TLH in 2005. I paid overruns at CPG in 2007 and at TLH in 1998. I can assure you that the latter situation is preferable. :D

Daytrip heli is often for a number of runs ranging from 3 to 7, with charge by the run after that. The guaranteed runs typically total around 10,000. At RK and Selkirk-Tangiers in 1999 and at Harris in New Zealand in 2006 I bought at least one extra run.
 
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