With many stunning remote lodges and town-based locations to choose from, at Pure Powder, our options for heli skiing in Canada are a must-try for any off-piste skiing enthusiast. We have a wide range of experiences in the steep, snow-covered mountains of western British Columbia, a province renowned for its fantastic high-octane backcountry heli skiing adventures. Our Canada trips include signature heli skiing, small group heli skiing, private heli skiing, powder introduction trips, family heli skiing, and more. Additionally, we offer trips to warm-up destinations where you’ll be able to recover from jet lag, enjoy some resort skiing in beautiful western Canada, and find your ski legs before moving on to a CMH lodge.
In this article, we’ll cover the foundations of heli skiing in Canada – some history of the sport in British Columbia – and why you should consider this location for your next heli skiing excursion.
Heli Skiing Canada: About Pure Powder
At Pure Powder, we are a family business with a deep love for powder skiing. We are the largest heli ski specialist in the UK, with over forty-five years of experience providing skiers with unforgettable heli skiing experiences all over the world. We’ve travelled extensively searching for spectacular backcountry skiing locations, from Chile to Alaska, Japan to Turkey. Whether you’re wanting to travel locally within Europe or you want to embark on an international adventure, we’ll have the perfect excursion for you at Pure Powder.
In order to provide you with the best possible heli skiing trip, we take care of all of the logistics on your behalf. We will handle the flights and accommodations, allowing you to simply enjoy being out on the epic terrain. Over decades in the industry, we have perfected the art of crafting unforgettable experiences with adventures created by skiers for skiers. Should you wish for guidance on which destination and heli skiing package best suits your needs, budget, or group size, we are more than happy to advise with a recommendation you are sure to enjoy. We offer a wide range of different heli skiing trips to cater to a range of budgets, experience levels, and any other specifications you may have.
Heli Skiing Canada: Our Canadian Trips And Programmes
Our heli skiing excursions in Canada are facilitated by CMH Heli Skiing, meaning you have access to the largest collection of exclusive terrain – and given that CMH were the first to explore these areas, they were able to select the best zones for heli skiing to provide you with the ultimate experience. We organise a diverse array of programmes in partnership with CMH, including:
Signature heli skiing, being our most popular heli skiing trip. This trip accommodates ten or eleven guests, with one guide per group and three or four groups per helicopter. For each day of the excursion, you’ll have the chance to ski between eight and twelve runs. Within our signature programme offerings in Canada, you have the choice to stay at one of eight remote lodges in British Columbia, Nakusp, or Revelstoke.
Small group heli skiing, which allows you to maximise your heli skiing in a flexible small group programme. Either form your own group of four or five guests, or join a group of similar ability. The appeal of this programme is that fewer skiers in your group means faster turnarounds between runs, allowing you to make the most of your heli skiing trip. Our Canadian small group programmes are based either out of Adamants Lodge, or Kootenay Lodge in Nakusp.
Private heli skiing, for those seeking the ultimate luxury and exclusivity heli skiing has to offer. With our private programme, you have your own dedicated helicopter suited to your group, completely removing any waiting times. For Canadian lodgings, you have a choice between the Bobbie Burns Lodge, one of the closest lodges to Calgary, the Gothics, CMH Revelstoke or CMH Valemount – the ultimate private lodge heli skiing experience.
Powder Introduction, which allows you to develop and hone your powder skiing skills with CMH’s comprehensive introductory programme. This trip is designed for strong intermediate piste skiers who are new to heli skiing and they serve as the perfect way to embark on your heli skiing journey. You would be skiing in a group of ten, with two guides per group. Choose between the Bugaboos Lodge, or Cariboos Lodge, based in CMH’s Northern tenure in Canada.
These are only four of our programmes within our portfolio; be sure to check out our full rundown of the trips we offer to find the one that excites you the most.
Heli Skiing Canada: What Makes Canada Ideal For Helicopter Skiing?
Heli skiing in Canada offers an unparalleled experience for any strong intermediate piste skier and powder ski beginner alike, as Canada contains dozens of heli ski locations to suit your skill level and desired intensity. With the country’s vast and rugged terrain, consistent snowfall, and historical reputation as the birthplace of heli skiing, Canada offers top destinations for skiers in search of their next adventure. Canada’s destinations promise deep powder, untracked slopes, and pristine wilderness, all of which combine in a Pure Powder excursion to deliver an unforgettable journey.
One factor that makes heli skiing in the interior ranges of British Columbia Canada so unique, is the tree skiing terrain available. The abundance of tree skiing options means that we can fly in the majority of weather situations, as the pilots can use the trees to navigate. This is why the interior mountains of Western Canada offer the most reliable heli skiing on the planet.
One of the primary reasons you should add heli skiing in Canada to your bucket list is the sheer variety of terrain available. British Columbia is renowned for its diverse landscapes, offering everything from wide open alpine bowls to steep tree runs and glaciated mountains. The province’s sprawling mountain ranges provide perfect conditions for heli skiing, with each range having unique qualities in terms of topography and snow conditions. British Columbia also receives some of the most reliable and consistent snowfall in the world; the quality of snow provides light, dry powder, which blankets the mountains for much of the ski season. Heli skiing in Canada means endless tracks of untouched snow in sprawling, untouched vistas – an absolute must for off-piste ski enthusiasts.
As we will discuss later in this article, Canadian heli skiing is steeped in history – CMH, the world’s first heli skiing operator, was founded in British Columbia, and CMH remains a leader in the industry to this day. We at Pure Powder take great care in maintaining our close relationship with the operators at CMH to provide our clients with the unbeatable level of expertise that our partnership offers. Canada is also home to many other top-tier heli skiing opportunities, many of which you can experience by choosing Pure Powder. These Canadian companies have decades of experience and are known for their strong focus on safety and environmental responsibility, thereby providing you with an excursion that is thrilling and breathtakingly beautiful while maintaining an unwavering standard of safety and environmental consciousness.
Canada’s heli skiing offerings are also accessible to more skiers than you may realise. While it is often considered an activity reserved for expert skiers, many of our Canadian destinations cater to intermediate skiers as well, with guided trips along terrain suitable for a range of skill levels. With the level of guidance and preparation that we are known to facilitate at Pure Powder, even those new to backcountry skiing can enjoy the thrill of heli skiing in Canada.
Heli Skiing Canada: The History Of The Sport
Heli skiing in Canada has a rich, fascinating history that is rooted in pure adventure and innovation. While skiing has been around for centuries, with the earliest archaeological examples of skis dating to 6000 BCE, heli skiing is a newer form of skiing – of course, due to the incorporation of helicopters. Popular history pinpoints the origin of commercialised heli skiing to have been in the 1960s, when a Swiss mountain guide named Hans Gmoser first introduced heli skiing in Canada to the world. Gmoser was an experienced climber and skier and had emigrated to Canada in the early 1950s. He developed a passion for the country’s vast, beautiful mountain ranges, which was interlinked with his passion for skiing and mountaineering.
In 1965, Gmoser founded Canadian Mountain Holidays, the renowned CMH, which became the first official heli-skiing operation in the world. However, prior to Gmoser, skiers in British Columbia were already itching to explore the powder-filled terrain; there is evidence of skiers using helicopters to access the more remote terrains of British Columbia, but heli skiing in Canada did not become a mainstream attraction until Hans Gmoser started CMH and popularised the term “heli skiing”.
CMH revolutionised skiing by using helicopters to transport skiers to high-altitude, untracked terrain that would otherwise have been impossible to reach. Thus marked a major shift in the skiing world, as skiers were allowed to escape the confines of traditional ski resorts and experience the exhilaration of skiing in the backcountry’s untouched powder. However, Gmoser’s vision wasn’t just about breathtaking heli skiing throughout Canada; it was about creating a unique wilderness experience. He emphasised the importance of proper guiding, safety, and respect for nature, thereby laying the foundation for heli skiing’s strong safety protocols and environmental awareness – tenets which we ourselves at Pure Powder are committed to upholding.
Over the years, Gmoser’s heli skiing operation grew in popularity and attracted thrill-seekers from all over the world. The success of CMH put Canada on the map as a premier destination for heli skiing and spurred the growth of the heli skiing industry. By the 1970s and 1980s, heli skiing as a sport had become synonymous with Canada’s backcountry, particularly in British Columbia. The province’s massive snow-covered mountain ranges and reliable snowfall make it a perfect destination for heli skiers, and to this day, Canada’s heli skiing remains foundational to the sport. Skiers from around the world travel to experience the deep snow and diverse terrain, and perhaps you will be one of them.
Heli Skiing Canada: In Conclusion
For experienced heli skiers in search of their next adventure or heli skiing newbies keen to up the ante, Canada offers the perfect destination among its numerous remote skiing locations. As the birthplace of heli skiing as we know it today, visiting Canada should be on the list for anyone who loves to ski. With Pure Powder, you are guaranteed a memorable experience soaking up the Canadian wilderness as you traverse through unimaginable terrains, all with the peace of mind knowing your logistics are completely taken care of. Embark on your next heli skiing trip with a partner you can trust by getting in touch with us today.
