Heli Assisted Ski Touring - In Bella Coola, BC
Last month I was lucky enough to join the first (inaugural) Heli Assisted Ski Touring Adventure run by Bella Coola Helisports. And what a great experience it was. Bella Coola has been a client of VentureWeb for the past two and a half years. They are a fantastic company and their heli skiing product, service and safety record are second to none. So when the opportunity arose the choice was simple.
Arriving in Bella Coola on a bright Sunday afternoon the mountains were a sight to behold. With over 30cms of fresh snow having fallen the previous evening the stage was set. I nervously introduced myself to my fellow touring companions. A group of three friends from Alberta.
The week prior I had no idea whom I was going to be touring with. I had been a bit nervous that I was going to be tagging a long with a bunch of super fit and ambitious types, who would grind me into a pulp...
After our morning drop (heli drop that is) on the first day and the 4,000 ft decent through epic deep pow, I was happy to start touring. Stability was excellent and the pace was fine. The whole day was spent exploring vast glaciers and skiing deep 45 degree lines.
At days end we flew back to base. After hoping out of the heli and walking all of about 20 feet... I was handed a cold beer and invited to tasty treats on the super scenic "apres deck" at Tweedsmuir Park Lodge. Ski touring gives me a mean hunger and luckily for me I was in the right place. Sara and the kitchen staff at TPL are amazing chefs. The food is five star and there is plenty of it.
Not many of our fellow lodge mates (another two groups of heli skiers) were too keen to get too close to us at the end of each day. Fair enough we definitely earned some turns even if we were getting dropped (in a heli - crazy) up and back each day.
And so it went. Each day was more of the same. Stunning mountains, amazing terrain, great snow and stability and lots of awesome skiing.
The whole Bella Coola Helisport experience is something else. All of the chalets are super comfortable and did I mention the food?
Then of course there is Swede too...
So after being suitably spoiled for the week I was really excited to have been a part of it all. Who wouldn't have been right? I do believe that there is a growing market for Heli Assisted Ski Touring as a more participatory and experiential backcountry skiing adventure. Naturally, I am hoping to get back up to Bella Coola for next spring but we (VentureWeb) will have to get lots of keen skiers signed up via the web site in the interim.
Check out my photos of the trip on our VentureWeb Flickr stream here.
