Alpine Heliski NZ
Alpine Heli Ski NZ
For powderhounds who are addicted to skiing or boarding virgin snow, fresh tracks are as vital as breathing oxygen. It’s sometimes possible to find fresh powder at the
New Zealand club fields, but it can be hard to have a nut-cracking time considering the general lack of facilities. The ultimate alternative is a helicopter – it’s a million times better than a
nut-cracker rope-tow! And with a helicopter you can hit the backcountry where there are thousands of hectares of untouched snow - music to a powderhounds ears!
Alpine Heli Ski NZ provides a range of heli skiing packages and charter trips in the spectacular Southern Alps near
Queenstown,
Wanaka and Mt Cook. Their packages are suitable for heli skiing virgins or seasoned pros, but if you haven’t been heli skiing yet, be warned. Go heli skiing once and you’ll begin a love affair that you may not be able to break off!
Queenstown Heli Skiing and Heli Boarding Packages
Like all other
New Zealand heli skiing operators, Alpine Heli Ski offers single day trips. Standard packages come in 3, 4, 6 or 8 run increments. The 3 run day (for $759 – 2010 rate) is a sampler package that is generally tailored to intermediate riders with little or no powder skiing experience. At the other end of the spectrum, the 8 run thigh burner package is an adrenaline maxed out day for experts (for $1,109 - 2010 rate). The packages include the guided skiing and boarding, safety equipment, a gourmet lunch, and transfers between your
Queenstown accommodation and the heli pad.
Alpine Heli ski also offer chartered trips that are charged according to fly time, as well as unguided free ride heli days. The latter are run on a few specific days each season, and because the rides are charged per drop, it’s a very inexpensive way to get a taste of heli skiing.
As with all
NZ heli skiing, the ability to fly a helicopter is contingent on the weather. The choppers may be grounded every second day on average, so keep your itinerary a little flexible. Thankfully there are a plethora of other world famous
Queenstown activities to keep you entertained.
Where is Alpine Heli Ski Located?
The offices of Alpine Heli Ski are located in Shotover Street Queenstown, but their playground is within the spectacular mountains near Queenstown, Wanaka and Mt Cook, New Zealand.
Terrain
The terrain on offer is vast to say the least. It’s more than 1,800 times the size of
Coronet Peak so the guides have lots of slopes to choose from to find the best snow conditions. The terrain caters for various ability levels, from blue-runners through to experts.
The alpine terrain includes powder bowls, ridges and glaciers. Run length varies somewhat with an average vertical drop of about 600-700 metres. In the Mt Cook region the runs are generally much longer, with some runs in excess of 1,200 metres! Hopefully you’ve undertaken an intense pre-season training regime?!
Another highlight of the heli skiing is the opportunity to be up amongst the spectacular terrain up high in the Southern Alps. Chances are you’ll become really snap happy, so take an extra memory card for your digital camera.
More Reasons to Go Heli Skiing with Alpine Heli Ski
Wanna hit the pow now? Heli skiing with Alpine Heli Ski is not just for the rich and famous. Mere mortals can also experience the joys of heli skiing considering the very affordable packages. And if you’re not a kiwi, convert the NZ dollar into your local currency (
convert here), and then it seems criminal not to go heli skiing with Alpine Heliski.
Alpine Heli Ski are also somewhat unique as they offer a guides training course. This is a great way to branch into a career as a heli skiing guide, which is potentially the second best job in the world! (Being one of the Powderhounds is the best job in the world!).
The
Powderhounds are hitting Queenstown in August 2010. We’re happy to forego bungee jumping so that we can review the Alpine Heli Ski operation. A heli skiing descent might be a little slower but a thousand times more enjoyable!
Alpine Heli Ski are also planning to spice things up in the Himalayas in India, with the
Gulmarg Heli Skiing operation set to take their maiden voyage in early 2011. Stay tuned!
If you have any questions or would like to enquire about a specific date
click here.