Powder Snow
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As with all New Zealand heli skiing, you shouldn’t have high expectations for the quantity of the snow. The same can be said for Southern Lakes, especially considering that their average annual snowfall statistic is only 2.5 to 3.5 metres. And with respect to quality, the snow conditions can vary significantly (as with all NZ heli skiing). You have to be rather lucky to score a blower powder day.
We’ve had very mixed experiences. Our first day we had very unfortunate snow conditions because it had rained on the lower elevations. Our second day out was also unlucky with thick wind crust at the top (even though Towers is renowned for being protected from the wind), a tiny bit of fluff for 15 turns, and then icy rain affected slopes. Unfortunately the office staff had oversold the conditions somewhat and told us the snow would be “good” when it was far from that (the guides during the day were also saying the snow was “nice” which was a bit of a worry). It’s days like these where you have to remember that the main delight with NZ heli skiing is the experience of the helicopter ride, the views, and just being out in the backcountry.
Of course Southern Lakes Heliski also has great powder days, and on our 3rd time we scored the most amazing dry powder; the type that flies coldsmoke off your rooster tail. It was absolutely phenomenal!
One potential limitation for Southern Lakes is that a lot of the “old” terrain is at maximum elevations that are a little lower than its competitors, so snow quality may not be as good (although lower terrain is less likely to be wind affected). Their “new” terrain (acquired from the former Backcountry Helicopters) has lots of higher elevations and it’s further into the ranges so the snow can be colder due to fridge effects, but it’s a case of whether they’re prepared to fly further to get to this terrain. SLHS generally has a rep for efficiency whereby they try and keep the helicopter fly time to a minimum and don’t fly further to find great snow. This has been our experience on 2 occasions, but it sounds as though the company is trying to improve this.
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Overall Terrain
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Southern Lakes scores additional points for having a huge tenure, but loses points for it not being well connected and not always using it all, and going to hills near the staging areas to save fuel, and then efficiently staying in the one area. It sounds as though the new ownership relationships with Aspiring Helicopters may change this long held reputation.
Their statistics state average vertical runs of 600-1,000 metres, and a proud motto on the SLHS vans claim to have the longest vertical of the NZ heli skiing operators (even though another operator has slightly longer vert stats). Our experience in the Towers area was an average of 386 metres of vertical, and in the delicious Minarets area our runs were about 580 metres (approx 1,830 – 1,250m).
On all 3 trips, all runs were in the same zone. They didn’t fly across to the next ridge to mix things up, so particularly in the Towers area and another zone near Black Peak (near Treble Cone), there was a lot of repetition.
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| Alpine Terrain |
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| Like all other heli skiing in New Zealand, all the terrain is up in the alpine. In all 3 areas the runs had some short steep pitches but were largely of a moderate gradient. The terrain near TC had a combination of fall line stretches as well as rollers and banks to keep it a little interesting, but switching areas (as other NZ heli operators do) would make it more remarkable. The Minarets terrain had much more variety than that found at Towers and near Black Peak. |
Tree Skiing |
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| The only “tree skiing” is dodging the shrubs that can be found at the base of some of the runs. |
Strong Intermediate Terrain
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Like the other Queenstown/ Wanaka heli skiing operators, Southern Lakes specifically has a package for intermediate riders so they score some points here. As a large operator, another major pro is that they’ve got a high likelihood of being able to group guests according to ability level.
However our experience suggests that they take intermediates on steep-ish terrain with challenging snow conditions even if they are struggling. On our first 2 trips, there were 4-5 groups sharing the one helicopter, and all groups skied exactly the same terrain regardless of whether they’d categorized themselves as a Heli 1, 2, 3 or 4. On the 3rd trip, an intermediate group sometimes had lower drop-off points to avoid the steepest pitch.
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Advanced Terrain
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| The terrain was very well suited to advanced riders. More variety in the terrain would have scored them more points as a little déjà vu was occurring. |
Expert & Extreme Terrain
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We didn’t tackle any major steeps or chutes due to avalanche risk considerations. The terrain had a scattering of rocks and mini cliff bands but there probably wasn’t any shenanigans or hucking because our group/s hadn’t specifically asked for it. Some of the terrain has plenty of steeps and gnarly features and if experts can wait until the avalanche risk is low, the guides have plenty of experience in taking out super experts (e.g. pros and film crews).
With most heli ski outfits, you have to take a private package to fully make the most of the expert to extreme terrain, but SLHS has the advantage of providing semi private charters specifically for experts.
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| Guiding |
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Like other NZ heli skiing, the guide to guest ratio is nice and small (4-5). The guiding program is led by internationally certified IFMGA guides and many of the lead and senior guides are very well qualified, veterans of the profession, and know the terrain very well. However this is not necessarily the case for all the guides. Due to fluctuations in demand, Southern Lakes uses various casual and junior guides who are not well qualified.
Our experiences with the guides have been a little mixed, but a few of the senior guides we’ve encountered are absolutely fantastic at their jobs and provide clear instructions, have plenty of personality, and throw some hilarity in to add to a fun day.
Many heli ski companies only have 3 groups sharing the one helicopter, yet our experience was for 4-5 groups. On the day of 5 groups per heli, our guide was the lead guide, and it seemed that he had his job cut out for him herding around such a large group.
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| Heli |
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Southern Lakes Heli Ski primarily uses B2 Squirrels which are powerful and agile machines. All the operators seem to use the same choppers, but for some reason the SLHS choppers feel squeezier in the back than other helis (maybe I had a serious case of heli belly?!). This is despite them removing all the cushions (which is done for weight safety reasons). This makes it a fraction uncomfortable but you’re not usually in the chopper for long.
All heli skiing pilots are very skilled, but a couple of the pilots we’ve encountered were amazingly skilled.
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Avalanche Mitigation Strategies
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| Southern Lakes use an information exchange program to assist in the monitoring of weather patterns and the resultant snowpack stability. The head guide’s emphasis on avalanche safety in the field was apparent through the digging of pits and the careful selection of aspects. One guest pack containing a shovel and probe was provided per group. |
Safety Briefing
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The safety briefings were not particularly comprehensive but they covered the basics, and are very typical for a NZ heli operator. All 3 briefings varied somewhat and beacon search practice was not always included. One covered what to do in the event of an avalanche (either as the victim or non-victim), and another included a cursory demonstration of the probe and shovel. One included the instruction that “you just shovel like crazy”! Hmmm...?
Safety around a helicopter was covered although this wasn’t always done in the presence of the helicopter, which makes it a little more difficult to get the message across.
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Frills
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The frills associated with the heli experience are very similar across the Wanaka / Queenstown heli ski operators. As with all operators they provide accommodation pick-ups and drop-offs, and lunch is supplied. The Southern Lakes lunch consisted of soup, hot egg pies or pizza, Subway rolls with a choice of fillings, Subway cookies, tea and coffee, and other beverages. Water was not available throughout the rest of the day, so BYO if you think you’ll need it.
Southern Lakes have a small range of rental skis, or if you hire them from one of the other Queenstown ski hire or Wanaka ski hire shops, they will pick up the equipment on your behalf.
Another nice frill is that the guides can take photos and video (although probably not the lead guide if it’s a busy day) that can be purchased at the end of the day. However as is typical to NZ heli skiing, there’s no après session at the end of the day for looking at photos or high fiving.
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Value for Money
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Along with the other NZ heli ski operators, Southern Lakes Heli Ski is very inexpensive, particularly if the NZ dollar is running at peso currency. The runs might not be as long as with heli skiing in Canada or the USA, and the powder might not be waist deep, but by golly it is super cheap in comparison.
The rates for the New Zealand heli skiing operators are very similar, although possibly Wilderness Heliski (at Mt Cook) and Methven Heliski provide slightly better value for money with longer runs than Southern Lakes. See the NZ heli skiing comparison for more information on rates and statistics. As with all NZ operators, powder ski or snowboard rental is not included in the package. |