Wanaka, New Zealand – The World Heli Challenge ski and snowboard festival will return this season to the Mount Aspiring National Park region near Wanaka and Hawea in New Zealand’s South Island, from July 30th to August 8th.nThe event was resurrected last year following a one-year hiatus in 2008. Fifty athletes representing six countries are expected to participate this year. The 2010 format has been slightly revised and will consist of an Extreme Day and a Freestyle Day.

Helicopter-accessed terrain provides the best snow conditions and terrain for the athletes. New Zealand skier Geoff Small explains, “The World Heli Challenge is a very unique event that combines our passion, our lifestyle and the opportunity to challenge ourselves against other competitors in a format that blows everyone’s mind every year.”

It’s “the most incredible experience in snowboarding,” adds 2009 snowboard champion and former Olympian, Andy Finch of the U.S.

Athletes take what they’ve learned in the terrain parks and half pipes of resorts and up the ante in the backcountry. The only other event of its kind is its sister event, the “King of the Hill” Snowboarding Championships held annually in Valdez, Alaska.

2010 will also see the return of the Big Air competition in downtown Wanaka on snow trucked in from nearby Cardrona Alpine Resort just for the event. The “Wanaka Big Air” was a side attraction to the World Heli Challenge staged from 1995-2001 on a huge ski and board jump in front of 8,000 spectators. For 2010 the event will take place on a smaller scale, to be held at the After Burner Party in Lake Hawea Hotel on Saturday night, August 7th.