Where is Northern Escape Heli Skiing Located?

Getting There

Terrace Ski Area

Northern Escape Heli Skiing Terrain

Snow & Weather

Guides & Safety

Qualified Guides
All NEH trained ski guides are dedicated professionals with years of British Columbia mountain guiding experience. Each is a certified member and/or recognized by:

• ACMG – Association of Canadian Mountain Guides
• UIAGM – International Mountain Guides Associations
• HeliCat Canada – British Columbia Helicopter Skiing And Cat Skiing Operators Association, which sets the standard of care for heli skiing safety in our industry 

Helicopter Pilots
NEH heli skiing helicopter pilots, like its guides, possess similarly impressive qualifications. Northern Escape helicopter pilots are leaders in the industry; vastly experienced and capable mountain pilots who are chosen not only for their skills and knowledge, but also for their friendly and outgoing personalities.

Heli Skiing Safety Equipment
Northern Escape also has a comprehensive snow, weather, and avalanche safety management system. Their Heli Ski guides are continually monitoring and collecting snow and weather information in an effort to assess safety hazards and choose suitable skiing/boarding terrain for each group. Their guide team meet twice daily to evaluate this information, plan the day, and share the information obtained during skiing/boarding.

Each Northern Escape helicopter is equipped with GPS, a satellite phone, and a VHF radio to maintain contact with the ski lodge and the guides, as well as first aid, oxygen, avalanche rescue, and survival equipment.

Included in all heli skiing packages, Northern Escape is proud to provide each guest with the use of a state-of-the-art:

• PULSE Barryvox Avalanche Transceiver
• Snowpulse Avalanche Airbag Backpack (the latest in avalanche safety) 

The Snowpulse Airbags have proven to significantly reduce the chances of being buried if involved in an avalanche. All guests are provided instruction in the use of these ski safety devices prior to skiing/boarding. In addition to the skiing safety equipment carried in our guides’ packs, each group will carry additional avalanche rescue equipment and a VHF radio capable of communicating with the guides and pilots. In the case of a medical emergency, Terrace BC, has a fully equipped regional hospital and ambulance service located only 15 minutes by road from the heli ski lodge.

Memberships
Northern Escape Heli Skiing is an Accredited Member of the British Columbia Helicopter and Snowcat Skiing Operators Association, HeliCat Canada. This association sets strict standards for helicopter skiing safety. Only by skiing/boarding with a HeliCat Canada member are you assured of certified ski guides that follow a strict set of operating procedures. They are also a professional member of the Canadian Avalanche Association and participate in the Industry Information Exchange (InfoEx), and together with other leading helicopter skiing/boarding operators, they sponsor avalanche and heli skiing safety research projects with the University of Calgary and HeliCat Canada.

Northern Escape Heli Skiing Terms & Conditions

The Organizer

Booking Polices and Conditions

Risk Awareness

Registration, Deposit and Payment

Travel

Cancellation and Replacement Policies.

Cancellation Notification: If you wish to cancel a booking, please notify NEHS in writing by contacting the office.

• Insured Bookings. NEHS will provide your insurance company with all details needed to make a claim.
• Non-Refundable Initial Deposit. Initial Deposits are non-refundable 48 hours after the payment of the Initial Deposit is made.
• Non-Refundable Final Payment. Final payments are non-refundable after the Final Payment Date.
• All Bookings are subject to cancelation if payments are not received on time. In this case all payments are Non-Refundable.

Replacement. You may nominate in writing a replacement for your booking.

• If you replace yourself with a new guest (name change), a $250 admin fee will be applied to the booking.
• NEHS has no responsibility nor provides assurances to find a replacement on your behalf. However, if NEHS is able to confirm a replacement, the you will receive a full refund less a $250 administration fee.

Date Change:You may opt to change your booking to a different available date in the same heli-skiing season. Changing dates is subject to an administration fee of $250.

Cancellation Mid-Trip. All packages are sold in units beginning and ending on a specific date. No refund is given, in whole or in part, for un-used days due to late arrival or early departure. In addition, no refund is given for any unused portion of your package due to poor physical fitness, skiing/boarding ability, illness or injury. There is no refund if you choose not to participate in any activity or to return to the lodge early.

NEHS makes Cancellation. NEHS reserves the right to cancel bookings for whatever reason NEHS deems necessary. In such a case, NEHS will refund or credit to the account, as per the your preference, the total payments made to NEHS by you to that date for any unused portion of their trip. NEHS will not be responsible for any other travel or interruption costs, including but not limited to, cancelation fees, airfare, third-party accommodations, and meals etc…

Cancellation/Interruption/Medical Travel Insurance

NEHS highly recommends you arrange for appropriate insurance for their travel. Acera Insurance offers comprehensive coverage for these insurances. Recommendations include, but are not limited to: Cancelation Insurance, Trip Interruption Insurance, Evacuation Insurance, Medical Insurance 

Age Requirements and Skiing with Minors

NEHS requires that guests are a minimum of 19 years or older.

Guests between the ages of 16 and 18 years of age (minor) may book but must be accompanied by a Parent or Legal Guardian at all times while skiing/riding.

Waivers, at the time of booking and in person at the lodge, for the minor must be signed by the Parent or Legal Guardian that will be skiing with them.

Minors must have a current working email address to access the skier portal to input their personal information and preferences. The parent or guardian can assist them with this process.

All minors must be strong, competent intermediate to advanced level skiers or boarders with prior experience in powder and back-country conditions preferred.

Guests younger than 16 years of age may be considered when booking a Private package with NEHS. Please contact the office to discuss this option further.

Vertical Guarantees/Refunds

Yellow Cedar Lodge and Mountain Lodge Packages

• Unlimited Vertical is Included. There are no additional charges for vertical.
• Your vertical each day, whether by Heli or by Snowcat back-up, is cumulative and will be posted for you to keep track of.
• Due to Helicopter start costs, NEH records a minimum run vertical of 1,500 vertical feet (450m).
• There are no refunds for unskied vertical when a guest chooses not to participate (departs late or comes in early), arrives late or departs early, sits out runs, or due to physical fitness, ability, sickness or injury.
• If, due to poor weather or mechanical breakdown only, you are unable to ski/board the minimum guaranteed vertical in your package, you will be refunded at $152 per 1,000m ($46 per 1,000 feet) for the unskied/boarded portion.

Private Packages

• Unlimited Vertical is Included. There are no additional charges for vertical.
• If, due to poor weather or mechanical breakdown only, you are unable to fly the minimum guaranteed flight time (see table below), you will be refunded at $215 per 0.1hr of unused flight time.

Extreme Events

In rare circumstances, events beyond our control, such as extreme weather, may make skiing/riding impossible or unsafe and we may be unable to ski or ride for a significant portion of your package. In these rare cases we will offer you a Rebooking Incentive to be combined with your Vertical Refund as a Rebooking Credit toward a future NEHS trip as follows:

• If you ski less than 65%, but more than 30%, of your guaranteed vertical, you will receive a Rebooking Incentive of 15% of your package cost plus the calculated vertical refund as a Rebooking Credit.
• Both the Rebooking Incentive plus your Vertical Refund must be left on account as the Rebooking Credit and used together towards a future NEHS trip.
• Rebooking Credits are valid for 2 years, have no cash value and are non-transferable. If you ski less than 30%, of your guaranteed vertical, you will receive a Rebooking Incentive of 25% of your package cost plus the calculated vertical refund as a Rebooking Credit.
• Both the Rebooking Incentive plus your Vertical Refund must be left on account as the Rebooking Credit and used together towards a future NEHS trip.
• Rebooking Credits are valid for 2 years, have no cash value and are non-transferable.

Powderhounds Review of Northern Escape HeliSkiing

Pros

• Northern Escape is like a cross between an Alaskan & Canadian heli skiing outfit and with the benefits of both. NEH scores huge amounts of snow and has the snow stability advantages of a coastal snowpack (like Alaska) yet it has the pro of some treed terrain so that the weather doesn’t have to be bluebird.
• The snowcat skiing backup is a major pro for stormy days.
• The Elite package provides the intimacy and boutique nature of private heli skiing, without the associated price tag. And whilst you can pull your own group together, you may also be able to book this package as an individual, couple or small group (subject to availability).
• NEH provides great value heli skiing and it’s fabulous that you have the choice of a limited or unlimited vertical package.
• It is a very well polished operation, with timely and effective communication between the staff and guests.
• Northern Escape Heliskiing has a high emphasis on the safety aspects of heli skiing including the provision of airbag backpacks to all guests.
• It’s easy to access the lodge with just a 2 hour flight from Vancouver and a short 20-30 minute van trip from the Terrace Airport to the lodge. And you can ski or snowboard on your departure day.

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective

• This was probably just a minor con, but due to the operational decision not to land and keep the heli under power for risk mitigation purposes, we only landed on conservative LZs that were very flat and wide. Without being able to land on narrow ridges or the like, we felt that this limited some of the terrain and entries we could have skied.
• Safety was paramount but it felt that at times the guides would err on the side of caution with respect to terrain choice. Even though the snow stability was very good, there were times when we hoped we could have skied some slightly steeper or more technical lines.
• The lodging was very nice (and the food exceptional!) but it was not as luxurious or remote as some other Canadian heli ski lodges. On the plus side, the price of NEH is much more reasonable than other operators.

Powder Snow
Terrace is located in a fantastic snow belt not far from the coast where a massive 20-30 metres of snow falls per season. Being so close to the ocean the powder tends to not fall as dry blower pow, but with its northerly location and cold temps, the snow tends to dry out. And of course the advantage of the coastal snowpack is that it tends to be much more stable than in Interior BC. When we visited, the temperatures had uncharacteristically warmed up across all of BC, so the snow quality was pretty poor below the treeline. Up in the alpine we had a variety of snow conditions and thankfully due to the vast terrain, the guides had a lot of runs and aspects to choose from to find good snow.
Overall Terrain
Like most other Canadian heli skiing operators, Northern Escape has the advantage of having both alpine and treed terrain so the guides can choose to head up high on fine days, or play in the trees on low vis days or if the wind or sun has affected the alpine snow. The terrain size is large which also scores it more points. NEH were willing to fly a long way to find good snow, but terrain diversity varied for us from day to day. A couple of days we skied different areas and each run was rather different, whilst on another day (after the guides had been directed to improve efficiency) we mostly skied in the one area. Whilst we always scored fresh tracks, we were getting a bit of déjà vu.
Alpine Terrain
NEH has masses of alpine terrain of varying pitches and with plenty of features to keep it interesting. It only loses a point because despite there being negligible wind, we tended to get dropped off at somewhat low LZs (see comment re helicopters) and felt we missed some of the best terrain.
Tree Skiing	not rated
We did a little bit of skiing through small trees but didn’t go tree skiing per se because the freezing level had been too high a few days prior, so we didn’t get an extensive look at the treed terrain. A huge plus for the operation is that they have a fully staffed operation for cat skiing with some well renowned tree skiing for inclement weather days.
Strong Intermediate Terrain
Like most cat and heli operators, NEH claims it can cater to strong intermediate riders, yet in reality it’s difficult to do so. The operation tends to attract advanced and expert riders, so a solo intermediate skier/snowboarder could feel rather intimidated holding up others in the group. Of course if you organise your own group with others of a similar ability level then it could work. Terrain-wise there’s no lack of slopes for intermediates. In the alpine there are plenty of landing zones where the abundant low angle terrain could be accessed, however some of the trees may be too challenging.
Advanced Terrain
Perfect! There are lots of wide open slopes with decent pitch, and lumps, bumps and little trees to keep it very interesting.
Expert & Extreme Terrain
As with most operators, NEH could cater much better to uber experts if you have your own like-minded private group (or 2 groups of 4 for the elite package). Of course the snowpack has to play ball too. There was plenty of steep terrain on offer and we skied some reasonable steeps but not too many runs that were really challenging, most likely because the other group sharing the heli didn’t seem as keen. The LZs may also have factored into the inability to access some highly technical terrain. On the mid-angle terrain there were at least plenty of features to pop off or huck off along the way.
Guiding
We had two guides during our stay who were both excellent, yet they had completely opposite demeanours. One guide was rather serious whilst the other was full of giggles (yet very responsible of course!) and had so much energy that he made the day incredibly fun. As snow stability was pretty good, the guides explained that they could guide somewhat loosely (ie follow me style) so they didn’t do a lot of hand holding and just regrouped above cliff bands. We felt incredibly confident in their knowledge and abilities and approach to safety.
Heli
Firstly it was a major pro of the Elite Package that the chopper was only shared with 2 groups. The chopper for the Elite package held 4 guests incredibly comfortably (and a small 5th person with a little squeeze). With front and rear facing seats, all 4 of us had primo views next to a window. The helicopter wasn’t as small or agile as some others used in the heli skiing industry, and they didn’t seem to want to land it on gnarly ridges. The majority of our LZs were somewhat low (even though the weather was very fine) and very wide and flat. We also rode in the Koala (the Classic Package heli) one day as one of the skids on our heli needed maintenance. The Koala is ideal for the Classic Package because it holds 6 guests and keeps costs down. Whilst it’s much more nimble than the big Hueys, it’s still relatively large. As with most heliski operators, they sometimes use a bus to take the 2nd group of guests to/from another staging area to minimise heli time, but they often travel to and from the lodge via the heli. A major pro is the snowcat skiing backup with multiple snowcats and a fully staffed operation to build roads etc. Generally they fly to the snowcat staging area because it’s OK to fly low below the clouds.
Avalanche Mitigation Strategies
Like many other Canadian heli and cat outfits, NEH runs a tight ship when it comes to safety. They put a lot of work into safety and this is very evident to the guests. Firstly the guides have very strong leadership and are highly qualified and experienced. Discussions from guides meeting and stability forecasting are conveyed to guests. All guests have to wear an avalanche beacon and ABS backpack with shovel and probe, and the guest at the back of the group carries a radio. If anything, some gung-ho guests may find the guides a fraction overally cautious.
Safety Briefing
For such a safety conscious outfit, the safety briefing was surprisingly not very comprehensive for a multi-day outfit. The helicopter safety component was excellent, the beacons and ABS were explained pretty well, and we got to practise beacon searchs individually. The rest of the briefing wasn’t structured or slick and the demonstration of shovelling and probing was very elementary. Elements not discussed included what do if you witness an avalanche or are caught in one, backcountry hazards such as tree wells, and the buddy system.
Frills
Northern Escape provides all the bells and whistles you could want. Lunches were made with love (and included some lovely poetry) and included yummy soups, rolls and wraps, cookies, chocolate (including deluxe chocolate coated coffee beans!), veggies and spicy teas. An array of powder skis were on offer and all guests were provided with an airbag backpack and other safety equipment. A high quality photography service may be on offer if there’s a spare spot in the chopper, although it can be rather pricey to buy the photos if not everyone in the group want to purchase them. Other frills include an extensive retail/souvenir shop, massage services, stretching classes, and transport to/from the airport. The overall levels of staff communication and service was very impressive.
Accommodation
We stayed at the Pioneer Lodge which was lovely with its boutique format. The highlight of the lodge was the beautiful handcrafted Canadian log building that housed the dining and lounge area with its lovely fireplace, the kitchen, and the massage/stretching room. The food was absolutely exceptional and we could have got a serious case of heli belly if we’d stayed there any longer! For each meal, the chef explained what fare he had lovingly created which made it feel just a little bit more special. Even breakfast was sensational and incorporated an incredibly decadent hot cooked dish. During après appetizers and dinner, they sold a good range of wines by the bottle and a few wines by the glass as well as other beverages. Overall the levels of service provided were excellent and very attentive without being intrusive. The lodgings were about 50 metres away from the main building (and just steps from the outdoor hot tub). There were two types. We stayed in one of the 3 large rooms/suites that have 2 double beds, an ensuite, a kitchen (we obviously didn’t need it), dining table and TV. The room was incredibly spacious and functional, and whilst the accommodation was deluxe it wasn’t luxurious as it lacked a little charm, the beds were rather uncomfortable (and squeaked every time one rolled over) and had cheap pillows. It definitely wasn’t a true wilderness lodge as it was located near the highway and we could hear the trucks rumbling past in the mornings. There were also a few traditional log cabins that offered small rustic rooms (no TV); ideal for those who want their own room. The much larger Yellow Cedar Lodge looked very nice. It was further away from the highway, so would be unlikely to receive any truck noise. It obviously caters to a much larger group of people so you’d have to decide whether you wanted the intimacy and attentive service of Pioneer Lodge or the highly social atmosphere of YCL.
Value for Money
Northern Escape Heli Skiing offers amazing value for money, particularly if you don’t think you’ll aim to ski or snowboard an abundance of vertical. The Classic package with limited vertical (with the option to pay for more as you go) is one of the least expensive packages of all the Canadian heli ski operators, except for Crescent Spur that has a big chopper with 2 guides, and Selkirk Tangiers that has big choppers that carry 11 guests and only one guide. And the limited vertical offered by NEH is much higher than the guaranteed vertical that other operators with unlimited packages offer. For the Classic with unlimited vertical package, the NEH price is a little higher than other operators with the exception of an equivalent product at CMH where they charge a small fortune! The difference with NEH is that they offer a much higher vertical guarantee than other operators. See the Canadian heli skiing statistics comparison for more information. As for the Elite Package, this offers fantastic value for a boutique heli skiing experience. As with many Canadian operators, you can’t BYO alcohol to have with dinner or apres snacks.