Heliskiing – it's like normal skiing, but instead of of going up a mountain by ski lift, you do it in a Helicopter! Heliskiing is a way of skiing without putting in the strenuous effort of climbing with all your gear and having to wait for others who will be in your way, also some of the most desirable skiing conditions can only be found by using a helicopter as they can reach the most natural terrain that is quite hard to copy on the highly modified slopes at various ski resorts.
You can find Heliskiing all over the world as it has become more popular as time has gone by. In the beginning you would only find it in Canada, as that is where it started and still the most popular place to go to for it. It is said that 95 percent of Heliskiing (and Cat skiing) takes place in British Columbia, Canada.
The mountains vary in shapes and size so runs are not the same, some have alpine glaciers whilst others have steep chutes and glade trees. The average vertical height of runs is roughly 2,000 feet, but some can go up to about 10,000 feet.
It is said that Hans Gmoser is the man behind heliskiing. He was a mountain guide from Austria, who had immigrated to Canada and started heliskiing in 1965 in the Bugaboo Mountains of British Columbia with Canadian Mountain Holidays, which he owned.
There are variations in skills when it comes to the way you heliski - there is the Canadian way, which is similar to downhill skiing and you don't need to know any special techniques but you must be an intermediate skiier or more advanced to do these runs, while the European Heliskiers need to have decent ski mountaineering skills, meaning they should be able to climb uphill on skis and using ropes, ice axes and crampons. All Heliskiers should be able to ski across all types of terrain, and not only that but also be able to get down a hill in various snow conditions.
Recently in Lake Tahoe it was announced that Heliskiing was coming back to the region after a 40 year absence, for the 2010-2011 ski season. Pacific Crest Heli guides are going to be the company that will tackling skiers and snowboarders to their preferred destination, as the company has access to over 100,000 acres of snow to ski on. Lake Tahoe is home to some of the beautiful mountain tops maybe you would like to stay at one of the Lake Tahoe vacation rentals - the Lake Tahoe area is so beautiful and that’s not even mentioning the mountains that will be in the backdrop.
With new the new incentive of Heliskiing Lake Tahoe should be getting a lot more visitors after the first take off in December happens. Who knows what will happen - there might be enough interest in the near future to hold special events on the glorious mountain, and this will surely open doors.
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