Powder Mountain
Powder Mountain Heli Skiing Whistler
Powder Mountain Cat Skiing has long been renowned for providing powderhounds with oodles of fresh powder lines. Cat skiing at Powder Mountain is awesome, but the snowcat can’t quite get to as many great spots as say a helicopter. Now Powder Mountain has it all! They’ve set the cat amongst the pigeons and have added fantastic
heli skiing to their repertoire!
Powder Mountain Heli Skiing is located near
Whistler, so a day or more of heli skiing is a great adjunct to a Whistler holiday. Whistler Blackcomb is a superb ski resort, but on a powder day everyone has to rush to get the freshies. Thankfully at Powder Mountain it’s unhurried, everyday is a powder day, and there are more freshies than you’ll know what to do with. The other distinct advantage is that Powder Mountain is aptly named. Compared to Whistler, the heli skiing area receives double to trip the amount of snowfall, so pack your snorkel!
Where is Powder Mountain Heli Skiing Located?
The morning meeting point for Powder Mountain heli skiing is in Whistler Village. From there you’ll be transported to the base lodge at Chance Creek, about 20 minutes south of Whistler (and 63km north of Vancouver). Depending on weather conditions, some days the helicopter staging area is at the Black Tusk Heliport in Squamish.
This Powder Mountain (near Whistler) shouldn’t be confused with
Powder Mountain in Utah.
Heli Skiing Packages
The most popular undertaking is a 5 run package, or the other option is a 3 run package. Three runs usually includes 4,500 to 7,500 vertical feet of skiing or snowboarding (1,370 metres to 2,280 metres). The 5 run package averages about 9,000 to 15,000 vertical feet (about 2,700 to 4,500 metres). Extra runs can also be purchased.
These standard packages include the guided heli skiing, transport to and from the staging area, the use of avalanche transceivers, a gourmet picnic lunch, and snacks and beverages. It’s also possible to book a helmet cam so you can capture a video of your best day ever.
Powder Mountain also has semi private heli ski packages (2 groups of 4 in the heli) as well as private heliskiing charters.
Heliski Terrain
Powder Mountain has a massive tenure of 387 square miles (100,000 hectares, 1000 sq km), offering a seemingly endless number of untracked powder runs. The terrain includes glaciers, other alpine areas, and tree skiing.
The terrain includes runs for intermediates as well as double black diamond runs. Powder Mountain uses an A-star helicopter that is powerful and agile, but a by-product of the small heli is that your guided group will only have 4 guests. This has safety advantages, and the other pro is that guests are grouped so that everyone is about the same ability level.
More Reasons to Heli Ski with Powder MountainFlying in a helicopter is an amazing experience in itself, but skiing or boarding all that virgin powder is just pure filth! Of course all that snow doesn’t fall from blue skies and heli skiing companies have “no-fly” days when the snow storms roll in. One of the distinct advantages Powder Mountain has over other Whistler heli skiing companies, is that they have cat skiing as a back-up option. You’ll only be charged for a day of cat skiing not heli skiing, and either way you’ll be able to revel in the powder and avoid the mayhem and lift lines at
Whistler Blackcomb.
Best of all, the Powder Mountain heliskiing packages are cheaper than the other Whistler heli skiing operators.