Banff Forum: Where to Heli-Ski??

There is no heli-skiing in the national parks; it is not a permitted activitiy. As Country_Wife mentioned, you will find a few operators west of Banff and Jasper, in BC - so much more snow falls on the western slopes of the Rockies, and the other mountain ranges west of the Rockies. Luckily things like aircraft maintenance and guide's credentials are government-regulated, but heli-skiing is an expensive service to provide. If you are looking for powder experiences that are a bit less expensive, there are also a few places that offer "cat" skiing - they use a snow cat (groomer machine) to whisk you uphill.

Hopefully this winter will have better avalanche conditions than the past couple of years - high to extreme avalanche danger was widespread through-out many of the mountain ranges of western Canada most of the past two winters. If I recall correctly, one of the big-name heli-ski operators had a fatal incident last year. There is no way to totally minmize the risk to zero, even with avalanche forecasting and expert guides.

Wiegele is a legend.

http://www.wiegele.com/default.htm

You can do this in Whistler as well.

http://www.whistlerheliskiing.com/

Everyone has a different idea about what a reasonable budget is, but this is not generally a moderately priced endeavor.

I meant to add, for what it's worth, that any ski vacation in the Banff/Lake Louise/ Jasper area is a dream trip in and of itself. Good luck.

If your budget doesn't extend to stay on mountain at one of the heli-ski lodges (I can personally recommend Bobbie Burns with Canadian Mountain Holidays), then maybe consider staying in Banff/Lake Louise on a ski vacation and taking a day trip out heliskiing. CMH are very flexible now with shorter heli ski packages, but do not offer a single day heli ski tours. You would be looking at either Purcell Heli Ski or RK Heli Ski (both are approx 4hr drives from Banff and offer transportation shuttles).

banffinfo - Banff Accommodation Reservations

If you wanted a "taste" of heli-skiing, an alternate idea for you is to do a day trip from Banff.

RK Heli Skiing offers a great trip from Banff at a cost of around $1000. Last year a 3-run package was $700 and a 5-run package was $900. The trip includes transportation from Banff, as well as breakfast, lunch and snacks before you drive home. A great option for you, if you're on a budget.

www.rkheliski.com

Toll Free: 1-800-661-6060

Otherwise, heli-skiing comes with a luxury price tag. Canadian Mountain Holidays offers 3 day, 4 day and 5 day options as well as the week long stay. Generally, the 3 day trips do not run frequently. Ball-park pricing for 3 days is $3000 and 4 days is around $4,500. If this is within your budget, it's a once-in-a-life-time-trip. Contact them directly to answer all of your questions.

www.canadianmountainholidays.com/heli-skiing

Toll-free: 1.800.661.0252

banfflakelouise

about 2 hrs. west of banff is golden & revelstoke. BC's best heli-skiing area. just google it and it will come up with several good companies.

Stay away from RK Heliski... They put you in large groups with varying levels, don't really assess your level in a realistic way, make you ski down low in the trees, don't keep track of whether you have insurance or not and don't disclose it clearly at the beginning, and we had two of about ten injured in the first two runs. Didn't evacuate us right away because they claimed it wasn't covered, then apologized at the bottom and said it was--sorry! The cattle drive of heliski.

Can't say I've ever had a bad trip with R.K. They were nothing except super-professional with the 2 trips that I have taken. They were VERY diligent in all aspects of safety, more so than experiences that I've had with other companies.

I started heli skiing 13 years ago and have gone at least one week each year since. CMH is the market leader but you ski in large groups in big noisy helicopters and without a lot of flexiblility in setting your dates. A much better alternative is one of the small group operations (4 or 5 skiers instead of 10+). Some of them will let you choose any number of days and start date (not just 7 day, Saturday to Saturday, for example). I have met many heli skiers on my trips and have never heard anyone say they prefer large groups. In fact one Swiss skier said that large-group operations are "more heli waiting than heli skiing."

The cost is never low, or even moderate. For that, try Cat skiing. One suggestion: Don't go unless you are at least an advanced skier and in GOOD condition. It is a waste of money for intermediate skiers or people out-of-shape...