Heli ski vacations are the best adventure – big mountain skiing, untracked powder, amazing helicopter rides over dramatic peaks, luxury lodging in remote cabins, chef prepared meals, hot tubs and hot toddies après ski chatting about your big descents in deep snow that day! What’ s not to love? The price tag maybe… we have your guide to heli skiing and review of the best heli ski operators.
Heli skiing can be just for a day, or a week, all-inclusive adventure with luxury lodging in a mountain cabin, gourmet meals and plenty of vertical powder skiing.
The best heli skiing is in Canada, in British Columbia, and in South America- Chile at Ski Portillo. We have reviewed luxury heli ski companies, and had incredible ski adventures, with Bella Coola Heli Ski, Purcell Heli Skiing near Kicking Horse, and Eagle Pass Heli Skiing near Revelstoke, and RK Heli Ski near Panorama , and Ski Portillo in Chile. These boutique heli ski operators, smaller than CMH and Mike Wiegele, offer an amazing luxury ski vacation experience unlike any resort skiing. We suggest you put a heli ski vacation on your skier’s bucket list, read these important heli ski tips, and go to Canada – the birthplace and best place on earth for helicopter skiing, or plan a summer ski trip to the southern hemisphere where its winter June, July and August..
Purcell Heli Skiing is the closest heli-ski operator to Kicking Horse, Banff and Lake Louise, located in in Golden BC, just off the Trans-Canada Highway. What’s great about Purcell is you can sign on for a single-day of heli skiing as an add-on to your ski holiday in Banff Lake Louise (1 hour) or Kicking Horse Mountain Resort (just 15 minutes away). Having spent an epic day heli skiing with legendary Rudy Gertsch, the founder in 1974, we would argue it’s among the best heli skiing in BC. Review of Purcell Heli Skiing.
Purcell’s helicopter departs directly from their beautiful chalet to high peaks of untracked, pristine powder where you will ski everything from wide-open glaciers, and big alpine bowls, to snow loaded glades – perhaps all in one long satisfying run. Purcell helicopters fly up to 10 passengers with two guides. The number of groups varies from one to three during peak times. A Purcell heli ski day package includes three runs for about $800, or you can go for the ultimate heli ski day of five runs for about a grand – $1,000. Purcell has great guides, gorgeous terrain in a tenure over 250,0000 acres in the Purcell Mountains, and an excellent heli ski safety record.
Bella Coola Heli Sport has the largest ski tenure of any heli ski outfit in the world, 2.6 million acres of exclusive terrain, bigger than the Swiss Alps. Its also one of the most boutique heli ski companies with just 15 skiers sharing two helicopters and a 60-acre resort based in the magnificent mountains, with a 1929 gentlemen’s camp – The Tweedsmuir Lodge as the main lodge, private cabins, and gourmet cuisine, a spa and a spectacular setting in remote BC near the pacific.
Ski days at Bella Coola begin with a yoga, a delicious breakfast, then boarding the Heli-copter right out front, for an exhilarating ride up to 12,000’ mountains, for long 3,000’ vertical run starting in snowfields on dramatic peaks, wide open bowls, dropping to well-space trees, to our an A-Star helicopter waiting to repeat 10 to 15 times a day. Après ski is a hot tub or massage, before a gourmet candlelight dinner and drinks by the grand stone fireplace in the luxury lodge – awesome. Only issue can be weather, if its foggy (often the case in the Pac North West), its no fly and you are sequestered to this beautiful lodge till its blue sky again. One particularly bad weather week we were encouraged to “drink it blue” – overindulge so you hope you don’t ski the next day hungover -inevitable the sun comes out…lol. More on Bella Coola Heli Ski trips.
Northern Escape Heli-Skiing is located near the Alaskan Panhandle, and offers more than 5,000 sq km of terrain. Its five lightning-fast Agusta Koala helicopters, can carry about 6-7 passengers or about 1,400 kg (3,086 lb) sling load. NEH has four custom-outfitted, heated snow cats on standby during stormy days serving 29 sq km of exclusive “catland” terrain. The operator offers its guests accommodation in three luxury lodges equipped with a culinary team of Red Seal chefs serving local BC cuisine and award-winning wines. NEH offers 3 seperate packages designed to provide the guests with a once-in-a-lifetime heli-skiing adventure on and off the slopes.
Heli-skiing in South America, we loved our helicopter skiing day while staying at Ski Portillo. We skied amazing first descents, heli-skiing in the Andes Mountains at 14,000′, long runs up to 3,000′ vertical in untouched beautiful wide-open snow bowls and chutes.
See our Heli Ski Tips so you prepared for your heli-skiing adventure, know how to dress, what to expect, and what kind of terrain you will be skiing or snowboarding.
More heli ski operator reviews below:
RK Heli is a day heli ski operation, near Panorama Resort. This is a great heli-skiing outfit for a first time – you can go out and see if heli-skiing is for you. With large capacity helicopters, and plenty ofguides, big groups of skier and snowboarder are sorted by abilities and you can discover the joys of Heli skiing, typically 3 runs before lunch, when you can decide to carry on, and add on, or opt out.
Eagle Pass Heli skiing is based in Revelstoke, its day trip heli skiing, or heli ski and stay in their lodge. Eagle Pass is best for experienced skiers in our expert travel opinion. The guides are not as well-seasoned as Bella Coola or Purcell, and therefore, you should have your own knowledge and experience. What we like about Eagle Pass is you can add a day on to your ski resort stay at Revelstoke Ski Resort.
“Heli skiing is indescribable, so don’t ask me to describe it…”