Heli Skiing USA

A powder hound may look like they have fleas when they’re itching to get a necessary fix of fresh powder. In the US where many ski resorts have a high ratio of skiers per acre, the chances of sniffing out powder without going backcountry are slim. The obvious treatment for a powder hound with an itch - a good dose of heli skiing (or heli boarding).

Heli Skiing Alaska

The largest concentration of heli skiing in the United States is in AK. Whilst the Alaska heli ski operators can cater to strong intermediate skiers and snowboarders, AK is renowned for expert and extreme terrain that is often featured on movies and social media. Snowfall is plentiful, and the mountains get absolutely caked in snow.

Points North Heli Adventures is particularly famous for being featured in multiple Warren Miller movies. Based out of Cordova (Cordova Airport is nearby), this renowned Alaskan heliski outfit offers affordable 7 day trips with lodging in a modest lodge. This is a large outfit that can cater to multiple groups.

At a similar price point for its 7 day packages, Valdez Heli Ski Guides operates out of Valdez (fly into Valdez Airport) near the highly renowned Thompson Pass. They were the pioneers of heli skiing in Alaska.

As the name suggests, Black Ops Valdez is also based in Valdez. Black Ops Valdez offer 1, 3, 4 and 7 day packages and the lodging is at Robe Lake Lodge, which is a classic Alaskan wilderness style lodge. A maximum of 16 guests are hosted at a time.

Alaska Backcountry Guides are also in Valdez and offer 7 day packages. Their stand-out feature is that each helicopter is for only 2 groups, rather than sharing the helicopter with 3 or 4 groups.

SEABA (South East Alaska Backcountry Adventures) is based in Haines (fly into Juneau and then sea plane flight to Haines, or ferry from Seattle or Anchorage to Haines). SEABA offer 7 day packages, staying in a no frills lodge in downtown Haines.

Triple Point Expeditions is based in Palmer, only 45 minutes from Anchorage, so there are no additional flights required. The location gives access to more than one mountain range, so the guides have more flexibility to work around the weather. This is a boutique semi-private operation, with only 8 guests, and all rooms can be single occupancy. This heli ski Alaska outfit only offers 7 day packages.

Continental USA Heli Skiing

In continental USA (ie the lower 48 states or “outside”) there are relatively few heli-ski companies, especially when compared to heli skiing Canada. There is only one helicopter ski operation in each of the states of Wyoming, Washington, Nevada, and a couple of Utah heli skiing options.

Idaho heli skiing can be undertaken with Sun Valley Heli Ski, which as the name suggests, is near Sun Valley. Sun Valley Heli Ski offer single day heli skiing with 6 runs, which is well suited to strong intermediate to advanced riders. Experts would probably want to organise a private charter so they can influence the pace and type of terrain skied. There is also the option of multi-day bespoke packages at the fly-in remote lodge.

Heli skiing Colorado consists of two operations. Silverton heli skiing occurs just outside the boundaries of Silverton Mountain, whilst Helitrax is based at Telluride Ski Resort. Helitrax offers 6 run day heli skiing, or you can stay at the resort for multiple days of heli skiing.

Types of Heli Skiing in U.S.A.

Heli skiing and heli-boarding in continental USA is somewhat different to the typical style of heli skiing Canada. Instead of multi-day trips that offer remote backcountry lodging, all heli ski operations offer single day trips, typically with 6 runs. Multi-day packages are also on offer with a few operators, some of which include various lodging options at a nearby ski resort.

The heli skiing AK outfits offer multi-day trips which are typically 7 days, whilst a few also offer single day trips. Due to the fickle nature of the weather in Alaska and the potential for no-fly days, the format of many of the trips are charged according to the amount of flying time (Hobbs hours).

Heli Skiing Alaska - Terrain & Snow

The Alaska heli skiing terrain differs somewhat from that in continental USA (and BC). In Alaska the tree line is low at about 1,500 feet (450 metres) above sea level, so opportunities for tree skiing are very limited. The treeless alpine terrain is similar to heli skiing New Zealand and heli skiing in Chile.

The terrain with heli skiing in Alaska is often on glaciated peaks where the maritime snowpack is strong. With less avalanche risk and snow that sticks to even the steepest faces, the likelihood of skiing 50 degree pitches is greater, which is why Alaska gets the reputation for extreme heli skiing. Of course you don’t have to be a stunt skier because more gentle terrain is also on offer.

There is no shortage of powder in Alaska. As an example, the annual snowfall in the Chugach Range is anywhere from 360 to 960 inches (9.1 to 24.4 metres) per year. Chugach Powder Guides cite 650 inches of snow per season. Snowstorms are BIG and if it’s snowing the helicopters are not flying.

Heli Skiing USA – Lower 48

In the other states of the USA the terrain is similar to heli skiing in BC Canada whereby it includes a mix of high alpine and tree skiing, which provides the advantage of less “no-fly” days because the trees afford some protection from the weather.

The continental US helicopter ski areas also receive significant snowfall but not in the same realm of the Alaska heli ski outfits, but the powder is much drier. Sun Valley Heli Ski cite an average of 200 inches of snow, whilst Ruby Mountain Heli receives 300” per season.

See our comparison of US heli ski outfits to compare the size of terrain and the daily vertical for the US heliski operators.

US Heliski Costs vs BC Heli Skiing

See our USA heli skiing comparison to look at an indication of costs for each of the operators.Heli-skiing in the USA is much more expensive than New Zealand heli skiing yet in comparing US to British Columbia heli skiing (see the Canada heli ski comparison), it often depends upon the currency exchange. Typically the single day heli skiing in the US is more expensive than Canada, whilst multi-day packages in Alaska are less expensive than British Columbia because some of the operators have no-frills lodging and meals packages. However trying to compare the cost of Alaska versus BC heli skiing is close to impossible due to the different systems used to count the amount of skiing/riding included.

Many of the Alaska heli ski packages only include a limited amount of heli skiing charged by Hobbs hours (time the helicopter is flying) and you then pay for additional time after that. This makes sense for Alaska heli skiing considering that there is a high likelihood of no-fly days. Conversely the BC heli ski operators tend to offer a certain amount of included vertical skiing/riding (which is much more than what you'd get with the Alaska style Hobbs hours) and charge for additional vertical. There isn’t an easy conversion between Hobbs hours and vertical of skiing because the amount of Hobbs hours depends on how far the helicopter has to fly between the lodge or staging area and the terrain being skied each day. As an attempt at a loose conversion, an hour of Hobbs time could equate to 20,000 to 25,000 vertical feet (6,096 – 7,620m) of skiing if the terrain wasn’t too deep into the mountains.

Some Alaska heli ski outfits offer a certain number of runs included, and it’s not possible to easily convert that to vertical or Hobbs considering the variation in the run length/vertical.

Some of the British Columbia heli ski outfits offer unlimited vertical packages, which are more costly than those packages with a set vertical. These are ideal for expert skiers and snowboarders are fit and want to charge at it all day, and can provide better value than the pay for additional vertical model.

Either way, consider the cost as a wise investment in fresh powder happiness.

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