Four years ago we were talking to a Canadian friend who celebrated his son’s 16th birthday with a heli skiing trip. I remember thinking that was so amazing but we could never afford to do that. And yet yesterday that dream came true! It nearly didn’t for Pete as he tweaked his back the day before but a hot water bottle, pain killers, anti-inflamatories and fear of missing out spurred him on. (And his Manx-ness of possibly losing money 😉 )
We went heli skiing with RK Heli Ski and got four lifts up in the helicopter (which was exciting enough) and four powder runs down through gladed trees and some bits of more open glacier at the top. It was amazing! They supplied powder skis which were lovely and wide and floaty – although Pete’s did like to auto eject him every now and then (apparently Salomen din charts make them set them lower for over 50’s 🙄)
The day started with breakfast, a demo of how to get in and out of the helicopter safely (no chopped off heads etc, they hate having to clean blood off apparently) and an avalanche talk follo by practice with transceivers, probes and shovels.
Once it all sounded scary as hell, we bundled into a van and drove 12km to our first helipad (fuel cache).
Our guide, Scott, showed us how to huddle to await the incoming helicopter and told us to be ready for the draught. We thought we were all ready but as the helicopter came into position and right alongside us, a sudden gust of snow just hits us – some videos went a bit wobbly at that point, to say the least. We all piled in and we were off.
Once we climbed up to 2400m we landed, made a huddle, Scott unloaded all our skis and avalanche packs and within minutes the helicopter was off again. Wow! We put on our skis (7 of us from Wintersports joined by 2 snowboarders from California) and proceeded to float on powder. The skis and powder require slightly different skiing technique so it was nice to start in more open area before heading between lots of trees. Even with that start I managed to come in too hot to the group and hugged Louise to come to a stop!
Next we headed off down an area called Rosie’s, named after RK’s daughter. The trees certainly required concentration but the powder was lovely to float along on. Before we knew it Scott was talking about the last pitch and we were arriving at a heli-landing area. Kit prepared, huddle formed and the helicopter came and landed directly between the kit (and Scott) and our huddle. No room for error. Mike forgot how to open the door but Louise came the rescue and we bundled in. Seat belts on as the door was closing and within seconds we were off again. Wow!
We got dropped a little further over and this time went down Shaws – a similar gladed run. Because of the heavy snowfall, winds and avalanche risk we couldn’t go up higher. At one point I was at the back of the group and everyone went over the edge out of sight. I headed a bit to the side on unskied terrain and couldn’t see or hear anyone. It was so peaceful – it was like is floating on a cloud!
We did a third heli lift and headed down Christie’s which ended with a very fast track with lots of whoops (jumps) to our lunch spot where two other groups were already waiting for the helicopter to pick them up. In the falling snow we ate sandwiches, squishy brownies and drank hot sweet tea which was very welcome. The toilet facilities were a little limited and, in an effort to not be seen, the girls had headed back up the track and into the deep snow. Up to my knees in snow I was trying desperately not to pee on my pants and suddenly found myself sitting in the snow! That was rather chilly!!!! Thankfully the dry snow brushed out of my thermals and I later heard three of the other girls did exactly the same.
Although we were only supposed to get 3 runs, because our elevation was limited, RK Heli decided to give us a 4th run after lunch so up we went again. We landed near Rosie’s once more and set off through the trees. This run was even tighter and more technical. The kids tried a jump – some successful, some not. Lizzie landed in a heap right by Pete, who’s ski had auto ejected, and she took his ski down the mountain with her. After a slide down on his bum, Pete and his ski were reunited and we skied the rest of the run.
What great fun!!! We bundled into the helicopter one last time and then returned to the van for the drive back to the centre for a beer, nibbles, a certificate, stickers, pin badge and poster souvenirs. Everyone was elated and surprisingly shattered.
