August is traditionally the busiest month of the season for Harris Mountains Heli-Ski and this year has been no exception, with one of the busiest days we've had in the last four years! 100 guests, 24 guides and 8 helicopters all on one day, skiing almost all our mountain ranges around Queenstown and Wanaka. From the Richardsons, over the North Harris Mountains to the North and South Buchanans and the Tyndall Glacier: We left our traces everywhere and there were many. With four private charters doing more than 15 runs that day and our daily clients doing mostly 7-10 runs, we can safely say that we easily did more than 300 runs in total!

One Million Metres

One of our most loyal customers, Heinz, was able to reach a very special heli-skiing milestone in August: After skiing with us for more than 30 years he has now completed 1 million vertical metres. Can you imagine how many runs he must have done in the past three decades? We took the chance to celebrate his success and loyalty with some bubbles on the mountain.

Heinz wasn’t the only regular client coming back this season. We had a lot of private charters with groups that have been skiing with us for many years and it’s always a pleasure to welcome them back.

Olympian August

August smelled like Olympic gold when US snowboard superstar Jamie Anderson came heli-boarding with us. "It was simply beautiful," was her conclusion after a day with Harris Mountains Heli-Ski.

And she hasn't been the only Olympic athlete flying with us this season. Local pro-skiers Jossi Wells and Janina Kuzma hit the runs with our guides and even though both of them have been skiing all their lives, in many different parts of the world, their experience with HMH was something special. “It was definitely the best day I've ever had skiing in New Zealand," said Jossi after his day in the Mount Cook area. Janina added “the terrain Harris Mountains Heli-Ski can access is incredible. I've had some of the best days skiing in New Zealand.”

Warmer Than Usual

August was warmer than usual which caused snow loss on the ski fields in the Southern Lakes area. However, for our operations, the temperatures were perfect and made, combined with a few storm systems coming through, for epic conditions all across our terrain.

September is usually a quieter time of the year for us with equally great conditions and the chance to ski some unique corn. So don’t miss out on your chance for an unforgettable day this spring and book your heli-skiing experience today!