Bella Coola Heliskiing Terrain
The size of the Bella Coola Helisports terrain is absolutely massive, although “massive” might be a massive understatement! The gi-normous terrain is over 10,700 square kilometres (2.64 million acres), making it the biggest Canadian heli skiing tenure. Its size completely dwarfs the big
Whistler Blackcomb, which is only 1/325th the size of Bella Coola Helisports.
Many of the runs are leg-burningly delicious, with some long descents of 5,000 to 6,000 vertical feet (1,500 to 1,800 vertical metres). An average day of heli skiing consists of anywhere from 15,000 vertical feet to 30,000 vertical feet of powder skiing.
This vast area has an amazing diversity of dramatic mountain terrain. The alpine terrain is Bella Coola’s specialty with a range of bowls, glaciers and chutes. The tenure also has plenty of tree skiing, which is handy for getting out during stormy weather days. As a minimum, skiers and snowboarders should be of at least strong intermediate ability (ie can confidently ski off-piste blue runs and some black runs).
More Reasons to Heli Ski with Bella Coola
Like other Canada heli skiing operators, Bella Coola is a member of HeliCat Canada, which has very comprehensive safety guidelines for minimising risk in the backcountry. BC Helisports has very qualified and experienced guides, and the provision of safety equipment such as airbags to all guests, adds to the emphasis on safety.
Bella Coola Heli Skiing has some other major strong points. It’s quick and easy to get to. The heli skiing and lodging experiences are intimate with only small groups, the terrain is colossal, and the snowpack reduces the likelihood of just skiing ho-hum mellow slopes. This heli skiing isn’t just steep, it’s majorly deep too. Zip up the armpits on your jacket and keep your mouth closed… unless of course you want powder for lunch! Fire up the Contour head cam and make some ski porn!