Need 2 more skiers, Heli Northern British Columbia

L

lovemypow

New member
We are a group of powder fanatics who have somehow (and we all wonder how) made it to the point that we can take a "boy trip" each year and buy out all 18 spaces at a great heli operation in northern BC. We have had two guys cancel this year and are looking for two like minded fools who can part with $6800 Cdn to ski a bunch of deep, deep pow and eat, drink and be merry from the 30th of January to the 6th of February.

The location is Terrace, BC, and the skiing is glacier and old growth trees. The price is awesome since we have skied with these guys since they opened 5 years ago and we buy out a whole week of their season. Most of us used to ski with the larger operators in BC but find this to be a lot more fun, a better deal, and way more layed back.

If you are interested please contact me via email... I'll get you more information.
 
Just checked the exchange rate and it is $1.236 Cdn for $1.00 US.... so the $6800 becomes $5500 USD. We need two more guys to fill out our full 18 for the lodge in order to maintain our full discount for all... Where else can you ski "movie lines" for 7 days and get away with $5500 USD?
 
I have several times made the comment after my 2007 trip to Alyeska that Chugach Powder Guides is a much better value than most Canadian heliskiing.

But I would agree that this Northern Escape package is a decent price. They are a bit cheaper to begin with than CMH/Wiegele, and the recent move in exchange rates has brought the US$ cost into the same range as Chugach Powder Guides.

I was solicited offline for this trip, but it is the same time as my annual trip to Chatter Creek. That far north, I'd be inclined to go somewhat later in the season. I also had some press contact with Northern Escape back in 2005. The founder used to work at TLH, and there was a dispute involving the TLH customer list that precluded my getting any press deal there.

sounds like some kind of sexist sausagefest
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Given Sharon's ski ability, I can assure her that she would be welcomed by any heli/snowcat groups with which I have ever skied.
 
Tony Crocker":1w83qfxd said:
Given Sharon's ski ability, I can assure her that she would be welcomed by any heli/snowcat groups with which I have ever skied.
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Thanks Tony. I appreciate that compliment. I can ski with the boys, and always dreamed of heliskiing, but the fact remains, I simply cannot afford it, even at the bargain price of $5500. My car isn't even worth that much and I need a new roof on my house.

Acid Christ wants me to join him on a heli-ski trip for his 50th bday, but I will only go if he's paying. He's going to splurge on himself for his 50th birthday.

I could use a sponsor.
 
Hey Sharon, please accept my apology, no sexism intended. Anyone who can rip it is welcome in our group, but we don't have sponsorships. As a dad I made sure that our (now adult) daughter learned the winter backcountry, sled skis with me and her brother and friends and I would trust her to find me and dig me out as well as to find the best line through the trees.

I trust Tony's opinion on Chugach and have not skied with them. Their package price seems comparable but looks like it has no meals; a pretty big difference over 7 days. We ski in 3 groups of 6 and use a 2 year old Koala heli... I don't know what Chugach does. All heli skiing is great, and our group consists of people who have skied with everyone from Valdez to CMH to Mica to Weigele, and we all keep going back to NEH. Make me the right deal though, and I will heli ski with the National Gaurd and eat MRE's.
 
Chugach uses A-Stars, 3 or 4 groups of 4 per heli. The big advantage is the cat or lift service backup for down days. This is somewhat compensated at some Canadian heli operators that have both good trees and alpine. Most tend to have much more of one than the other. This is one of Wiegele's strong points, an abundance of both.

With regard to Sharon's comments, I have generally balked at the full week heli price myself. But day skiing is not ideal for strong skiers unless you have a group organized. For both cat and heli I would generally prefer the 3 or 4 day package. But in reality I have mostly dabbled, trying many different places:

19 heli days among:
Chugach Powder Heli 1
CMH Kootenay Heli 2
Harris Mt. Heli (N.Z.) 2
Mike Wiegele Heli 8
RK Heliski 1
Selkirk-Tangiers Heli 1
TLH Heliski 3
Utah Powderbirds (now closed) 1

31 cat days among:
Arpa Snowcat, Chile 2
CAT Powder Skiing 2
Chatter Creek Snowcat 8
Chugach Powder Cat 2
Great Northern Cat 3
Island Lake Snowcat 9
Montana Backcountry Adventures (now closed) 1
Mt. Bailey Snowcat 1
Retallack Snowcat 2
Targhee Snowcat 1

Patrick and Luke had a trip a couple of years ago into the northern B.C. resorts, Shames, Smithers and Powder King. Northern Escape and I think TLH's operation at Ripley Creek would be accessible on that itinerary. On my list sometime!
 
lovemypow":2gw2dxc4 said:
Hey Sharon, please accept my apology, no sexism intended. Anyone who can rip it is welcome in our group, but we don't have sponsorships. As a dad I made sure that our (now adult) daughter learned the winter backcountry, sled skis with me and her brother and friends and I would trust her to find me and dig me out as well as to find the best line through the trees.
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Apology accepted and appreciated and kudos to you for teaching your daughter the backcountry and giving her the gift of skiing.

I guess I'm more jealous than anything. It wasn't as easy as my mother said it would be to fall in love with a rich guy ;-), and my own career interests did not afford me the kinds of trips I dream of. I manage to ski more than most, but definitely on a shoestring, always trying to get the most skiing for my money. I was lucky enough to enjoy a cat ski trip a few years ago to research an article for FTO http://www.firsttracksonline.com/index. ... ay&sid=120

Since then, I dream about another cat ski trip or a heli-ski trip. Definitely on the bucket list, but it may not happen unless I get a sponsor or I get some kind of inheritance or gift from a wealthy loved one. Until then, I dream and live vicariously through Tony and whomever posts about their powder exploits here on FTO.

Good luck finding some rippers for your trip. I totally understand how you would want and expect top-level powder skiers. When I was skiing with Valhalla Powder Cats we were lucky to have a top notch group. I could see how one goober could really slow up the group and reduce the amount of vert skied in a day.
 
Tony Crocker":3t64yoqo said:
Chugach uses A-Stars, 3 or 4 groups of 4 per heli. The big advantage is the cat or lift service backup for down days. This is somewhat compensated at some Canadian heli operators that have both good trees and alpine. Most tend to have much more of one than the other.
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On my last day at Shames, I noticed the heligang van. Shames offers great skiing, if it's snowing, it will be untracked skiing all day. Very little skiing above treeline, except if you go in the back.

Tony Crocker":3t64yoqo said:
Patrick and Luke had a trip a couple of years ago into the northern B.C. resorts, Shames, Smithers and Powder King.
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The trip didn't included Powder King, PK is many many hours away. Lucky was based in Terrace for his two weeks and did two day trips to Smithers which were done before I arrived (fairly long considering that it was snowing and he had a car rental without snow tires). I stayed in Smithers after he was done. Lucky has his plane ticket for this winter, I believe he arrived in Terrace on Feb 6th.

Regarding Heli aided skiing, there is a possibility for one shot helidrops without guides for a fraction of the cost. Some local and Lucky got together for a drop somewhere. Of course, this isn't recommanded if you don't know the place and have no backcountry, avy experience.
 
I'd recommend Sharon's article as a good example of getting maximum bang for the buck. I believe Valhalla did have an avalanche mishap in one of its early seasons, but Sharon seemed confident in their expertise when she was there. Her description of the day there is comparable to the top 3 of my 31 lifetime cat days. Only my first 2 days at Island Lake had more vertical, and probably only last Feb. 3 at Chatter Creek viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6356 had deeper snow.

Good luck finding some rippers for your trip. I totally understand how you would want and expect top-level powder skiers. When I was skiing with Valhalla Powder Cats we were lucky to have a top notch group. I could see how one goober could really slow up the group and reduce the amount of vert skied in a day.
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This was a problem when Adam and I went to Retallack in 2000. A snowcat holds 10-12 clients, and some operators only have one cat. There was a newbie at Island Lake in 2003, but they had an extra guide come in to teach him while the rest of us went on our way at a decent pace. Also Island Lake and Chatter Creek run 3 cats every day, so they can probably reassign people to balance ability better than the smaller places.

IMHO this is a big attraction of Wiegele, which I visited solo in 2006 and 2007. They have the big 212 Helis plus A-Stars, 75-100 people there every week. No matter your ability, you will end up in a compatible group. At the smaller heli palces, most of them use A-Stars, so with 4 to a group the risk of divergent abilities tends to be less than snowcat.

Some day heli operators in touristy areas tend to attract first-timers, RK at Panorama and Harris in New Zealand by my experience, and also Whistler by reputation. If you have powder experience, do not sign up for "the 3-run package" at these places. Usually a higher priced option with more runs will be offered, which will attract faster skiers. The best option at these places is to come with your own group of 4+ compatible skiers.
 
You all are correct in many areas... the key to our trip is controlling all 18 ski slots in the lodge to avoid having any surprise skiers who need a powder lesson. Then, among our 18 we determine day by day who wants to really rip it or if there is a group of 6 among us who want to lay back; the choice remains ours.

The other piece of it is to be in groups of either 4 or 6; Bell 212's hold 11 skiers as do most cats hold 10-14... while fun, when you increase the number in any group you increase the chances of even a solid skier losing a shoe and slow up the gang.

Tony; it is amazing that we have not met somewhere on a cat or a heli! Perhaps one day
 
The Chatter Creek group I'm in was originally set up by Lockie Brown who posted reviews here in 2004 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5722 and 2005 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=619. It has a new organizer and controls 2 of Chatter's 3 cats for our 4-day time slot. There is only slight turnover year-to-year, and so far any dropouts have been replaced with friends of those already in the group.

With regard to the larger groups, it also helps to have tail guide to pick up the pieces if anyone "throws a shoe." Most cat operators do this, as does Wiegele. CMH does not.
 
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