Heli-skiing around the world

While summer heats up down here, the Northern Hemisphere is serving fresh powder and epic heli-skiing. Here’s where to chase winter around the world right now.

The New Zealand summer is in full bloom and everyone is getting hot under the sweet summer sun. Skiing perfect lines in untouched powder is just a far memory at this time of the year. But while we’re enjoying a refreshing swim in the lake, the mountains in the Northern Hemisphere provide excellent conditions for heli-skiing and heli-boarding at the moment. Let’s have a look at where to find the best runs.

Europe

According to snowmagazine.com, the best heli-skiing spots can be found in Italy, namely Livigno and Cervinia. At the latter, guests can book the ‘Helibaptism’, a one-drop experience high up in the mountains between Italy and Switzerland which will see your guide escort you down between 1300 and 1500 metres of untracked powder. Another great option is Iceland. Here the operator Arctic Heli Skiing offers the chance to make first descents from remote flat-topped summits looking out across the North Atlantic down huge snowfields all the way to that same ocean; there are very few places on Earth where you can do this. Another rather exotic heli-skiing location can be found in the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia, which offers superb heli-skiing in deep, dry powder nestled between Asia and the Middle East. 

North America

Regularly voted the best heli-skiing region in the world, Alaska offers some incredible options for heli-skiers and heli-boarders. An endless wilderness and an almost infinite amount of snowcapped summits offer heli-skiing on another level. We know what we’re talking about, our manager Hugh Barnard always spends the second half of the year guiding for the famous Tordrillo Mountain Lodge. Canada, the birthplace of heli-skiing, offers numerous options for fantastic heli-skiing experiences, mainly in British Columbia which has the world’s largest heli-ski area. Colorado, Washington and Nevada also have heli-skiing terrain on the US-American side of the border. 

India 

With a heli-skiing terrain that is located at an altitude of 5000 metres, most heli-skiers have to catch their breath more than once when coming to the Indian Himachal Pradesh region. The area has everything on the heli hit list, from skiing steep summits to racing down ridges, and plunging into birch, oak and cedar forests, always surrounded by the majestic peaks that are the roof of the world. 

Whether you’re flying East or West to find the best heli-skiing experience, don’t forget to come back in July when our season finally starts again.