An untouched carpet of fresh snow lay before me as I glided through the silent forest; The charred trunks of the forest stood in stark contrast to the white mountainside in British Columbia.
As big waves of fluffy snow rose up on my turns, my eyes picked out the gaps between the trunks, and I darted through them like a surfer launching a tube. Suddenly the sun broke through the clouds, turning the snow into gold, and I could hear myself laughing with incredible joy as the flow of my life spun around me.
Backcountry skiing with fresh powder feels like freedom. Our guide, Ian, had charted a path through the Black Forest region of the Purcell Ranges, on the foothills above the Duncan River, but we were using the area next to his tracks as our own playground.
Choosing your own line, deciding when to turn and how to ski or snowboard in deep powder is extremely addictive. The best way to consistently achieve those dreamy lines? To catch the elevator from the helicopter.
However, heli-skiing is expensive; So much so that many skiers ignore the idea when they could buy multiple ski holidays for the same price.
I returned to the source, the birthplace of heli-skiing, to find out if the experience was truly worth the expense. British Columbia is home to Canada’s snowiest mountains, famous for their soft, waist-deep powder. And the Purcells region of the Columbus Mountains is an adventure destination unlike anywhere else on Earth, with its split towers ending in miles of ski slopes that drop over rolling glaciers into steep-sided, remote valleys.
This terrain is ideal for heli-skiing, but it is so remote that it is also the only practical way to access it; It’s a combination that led the sport’s pioneers to the distant granite Bugaboos of the mid-sixties. The lessons learned in the decades since make CMH Heli-Skiing in Golden, British Columbia, one of the most knowledgeable companies on the planet. In fact, these areas are so remote that their names were given to them by ski guides and pilots who explored them over the years.
CMH Purcell recently launched one-, two-, or three-day heli-ski packages in an effort to make this experience more accessible to the masses. On my trip, I fell by helicopter with skiers of various abilities and ages, including a group of skiers in their seventies who generally stuck to groomed pistes; You don’t need to be an expert.
From the very beginning, the guides made safety their top priority. Often world-class adventure experiences serve the customer, but as CMH founder and heli-skiing pioneer Hans Gmoser said: “In heli-skiing, the customer is not king. The guide is not king. The mountain is king!”
When you stray too far from your guides’ orbit, you are left alone in a freezing wilderness; It’s a huge learning curve. We spent two hours of our first morning practicing using our avalanche beacons and radios and learning about best practices in the mountains.
Our guides were friendly and patient and never rushed us. But you soon learn to listen as they talk and make friends as you go down. In a powder pass through snow-covered green pines, I have to call my turns so my snow buddy Ben can keep me in sight – it’s actually a lot of fun and adds to the sense of discovery and camaraderie.
We first boarded the Bell 212 helicopter on the concrete floor at CMH’s Purcell lodge, but I soon learned exactly how challenging the landings could be. A 15-20 minute ride took us far beyond civilization, to a place where tower after tower of snow-covered rocks could be seen.
We went down with a white explosion as the machine’s slides gently hit the ground. We got off the helicopter, walked towards the little red flag planted in the snow, and huddled together.
The engines roared and as I watched the bird take off into the cobalt blue sky, it almost felt like we were moving away from it. When the blizzard passed, I saw that in the distance thrown by a snowball to the right was the shark’s tooth peak, beyond a snowy cliff descending towards the clouds; CMH’s guides named this exposed spot Top Of The World.
Our guides consistently demonstrated their knowledge of the large area and were able to weigh slope angles, avalanche danger, weather and seasonal snow conditions to reduce risks. This is how I found myself standing on one of the most perfect, open powder bowls I had ever seen, with no one around for miles, but with complete confidence that my guide had correctly assessed the risks.
“We’ll stop by,” Ian said to me. “But the angle flattens out at the bottom, so give skiers room in front and make sure you maintain your speed!” I dug into the steep slope, sending up waves of gunpowder, but then as the slope eased I kept going in a straight line, accelerating until the wind was howling in my ears. I felt like I was flying over a dust bowl; a little bit hurry!
During my three days at CMH, we did eight to 10 fresh powder runs per day, thanks to the effective guidance of Ian, Tom and Bryan. We passed through evergreen glades, over the Silent Glacier and down majestic cliffs like the Upper Whitehorn.
Being in this type of environment is a tremendous privilege, and CMH acknowledges that it comes at a cost in terms of carbon footprint. The operation has taken steps to monitor, reduce and offset the impact of burning jet fuel, and since the 1980s it has also been working to harness micro hydroelectric power on its remote lodges, achieving a range of environmental awareness in the process.
Human energy is also important, and powder runs can demand a lot from your legs. Just as I started waving the flag, we would stop for lunch at specially built, helicopter-supplied mountain huts for hot soup, sandwiches and refreshing tea.
Properly refueled, the group would then embark on another round of tree runs, weaving through green branches heavily laden with white, learning a little more with each run about spotting gaps and choosing the best line to reach the final result. feeling of flow.
At the end of my journey, I felt like I had packed a year’s worth of powder running experience and training into three days. It was hard not to conclude that it was worth the expense. And my friends seemed to agree. At the end of one run, American businessman Allan said in an astonished tone: “This is second only to sex.”
Later, at the pick-up point, I looked around at the densely forested terrain and realized that skiing in this awe-inspiring part of the planet would be a task requiring days of practice.
Luckily we had an angel on our shoulders; The distinctive, percussive thrum of an approaching helicopter grew louder, and I felt my eardrums pounding in time with the convulsive downward pull of the rotor. Our pilot flew blindly, landing the belly of the metal beast between piles of skis and the gathered group of Gore-Tex-clad skiers. I could almost reach out and touch the sled as it lowered itself in front of my face.
Trust; It is the most valuable thing in the backcountry of the Columbia Mountains.
I need to know
C.M.H. Purcell
The excellent ratio of eight guests to two guides and one-, two- or three-day trip options make CMH Purcell (cmhheli.com), with its mountain town base, a flexible, accessible option that easily accommodates a wide range of skiing styles. Prices start from CAD 2,115 (£1,243) plus taxes per day and include unlimited vertical meter heli-skiing, snacks, lunch in the mountains, equipment, guide and pre-ski instruction. It’s six minutes from the town of Golden, British Columbia, which you can reach by flying from London to Calgary and then renting a car or booking the CMH shuttle.
Timeline | The history of heli-skiing in the mountains of British Columbia
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1965 – CMH founder and heli-ski pioneer Hans Gmoser conducted the first heli-ski tour in the Bugaboos (after he and his friend Leo Grillmar emigrated from post-war Austria and began guiding ski tours in British Columbia in 1955 )
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1968 – First heli-ski lodge opened in Bugaboos
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1970 – The first heli-skiing took place in the famous Revelstoke
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1975 – CMH’s Cariboo Lodge in the Cariboo Mountains opens for heli-skiing
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1982 – CMH’s Bobbie Burns Lodge, located in the heart of the Purcell and Selkirk Mountains, opens for heli-skiing
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1989 – CMH’s Goths saw the first heli-skiing in the terrain between the Selkirk and Monashee Mountains
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1990/1 – CMH’s Galena and Adamat Lodges (in the Selkirk Mountains) opened
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2008 – CMH Cariboos launched the first Steep Camp when snow conditions were stable
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2023 – CMH Purcell offers first one-, two- and three-day heli-ski experiences
How to do heli skiing for every budget?
Heli-skiing is always a premium choice, but there are also layers that can cut your outfit accordingly.
CMH Small Group Experience, Canada
A smaller helicopter and group size gives you more verticality. Traveling with just four or five guests can help you cover terrain faster and spend less time getting on board, allowing for more flexibility and runs that can be tailored to the group’s shared goals and pace. You can book alone and be matched with similar skiers and riders or with a selected group.
Price: From 1,631 Canadian dollars (£953) per day based on a four- or five-day trip
Where: CMH Adamants, CMH Kootenay, CMH Monashees
cmhheli.com
Powder South Heli-skiing, Chile
The five-star Puma Lodge in Chile’s Río Los Cipreses National Reserve is the base for light and dry powder heli-skiing in the Central Andes. This untouched region offers heli-skiable terrain from icy Andean peaks to steep ridges and valleys, at altitudes between 2,500 and 4,500 m. Guides ensure that you find the best terrain for each skier’s ability.
Price: From $8,500 (£6,781) per person for three days of heli-skiing
Where: Río Los Cipreses National Reserve, Chile
purepowder.com
ESF Heli-ski Méribel, France
The popular Méribel resort in the French Alps offers a day of ESF-guided off-piste skiing, offering an introduction to heli-skiing at a more accessible price point; Three Valleys and Italy. This allows you to gain new routes in normally inaccessible parts of the Alps.
Price: from €1,070 (£918)
Where: Méribel, French Alps
ski-school-meribel-mottaret.com