What Is Heli-skiing?

Imagine yourself being ferried by one of those gondolas at a ski resort. You see slopes that look like totally awesome places to ski. You ask the guide whether you'll be skiing there and he curtly replies "No," and he points you in the other direction where you see natural scenery with a variety of landscapes. "That's where you'll be skiing." So what is heli-skiing? It's getting on a helicopter and then going to that radical wilderness site to ski. No rules, no artificial snow blowers and nobody to tell you what you can or you can't do. It's about finding that extreme location via a chopper, getting dropped off and totally going for it.

There are two types of heli-skiing, the US/Canadian model and the European model. The US/Canadian model is pretty much like your normal routine skiing venue, except that your site is way off limits and practically unfettered by human existence and you get to be brought by the chopper again and again to your starting point. The chopper is acting like your normal ski-lift.

The European model is similar though much more exhausting because of the length of travel that you have to make. The chopper drops you down on your starting point and then you proceed to meet it at the end of the route. Suffice to say, that the distance you must travel is much farther than in the US/Canadian model.

Because of the nature of the sport, some countries prohibit heli-skiing. The foremost reason is that it's possibility not safe. Why? Because the locations you are brought into are usually remote. Just imagine how difficult it would be to retrieve or rescue people if a mishap occurs. This is also the reason why most of these excursions also come with the requisite guide. The guide is not just your friendly advisor, the guide is the one who will point out the best route for you once you disembark from the chopper. Their designation as guides is brought about by their familiarity with the terrain and most of all, their professional certification from the International Federation of Mountain Guide Association.

If you really want to know what helicopter skiing is all about, you should check out the YouTube video entitled "Insane Big Mtn Heliskiing in Alaska". That video really is insane. The skier is brought to the peak of the mountain which is inclined at preposterous angles. The drops are so breathtakingly steep that the speed of the skier is almost impossible to measure and it looks like it could really be close to freefall.

With that said, heli-skiing is not for everyone. It's not for your grandmother, your kid or maybe not even you. But if someone is daring enough to for the experience, there are sites available all over the world including: Canada, Iceland, Greenland, New Zealand, the Himalayas and more. Aside from that, the most important thing really about heli-skiing is being able to appreciate that part of nature which hasn't been touched by civilization and humanity.