 Poster: A snowHead
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Looking at finally doing some heleskiing this winter, in Europe as in pushing 50.
Nothing too dramatic, just chilled stuff from a cast iron safety operator.
Any suggestions?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Europe powda is wet and shallow.
Global warming and the Med make Alpine snow wet.
Global drying means snowfall in Europe is declining.
At 50yo, time is running out.
Head straight for the best.
Go where it is fluffy and deep.
Northern Japan.
Enjoy.
http://www.hokkaidobackcountryclub.com/en/homepage/
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Jwh138, l haven’t heli-skied in Europe, so can’t make recommendations, but have done many times in Canada.
To avoid disappointment you need to be flexible with your dates, as if the pilot can’t see they can’t fly (VFR flights), so it’s not unusual to spend your days heli-skiing sat at the base station waiting for the weather. The first time I went, it was one of the other skiers 5th day heli-skiing, but the first that they had actually flown.
Also, make sure you know exactly what you are getting, as European operations tend to offer between 1 and 3 flights, compared to 6 or more in Canada/US.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I went to Alagna with James Orr Heliski (www.heliski.co.uk) and had a great trip. I was there as a journalist, but my brother came as a paying punter and thought it was great too. We had Graham Bell on our trip with us, which was fun trying to keep up with him! We had four days skiing in resort, in the end did two helidrops across two different days with slightly shift in itinerary due to weather.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Gressoney good too , probably same drops as Alagna
Esp good ski from Monte Rosa to Zermatt and back to champoluc
Easy ski but epic ambience
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@PowderAdict, “ To avoid disappointment you need to be flexible with your dates, as if the pilot can’t see they can’t fly”
That’s the same everywhere... spent a week sitting in a remote lodge in BC once waiting for the cloud to lift...
A guide friend reckons his fave is Valgrisenche.
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@Jwh138, @under a new name,
Heliskied all over Europe , loved Zermatt Monte Rosa great drops and scenery but very busy , I would recommend accessing via Ste Foy Petit St Bernard and Valgrisanche as gives you options if the weather is bad to ski in the woods in Ste Foy or Les Arcs . The PSB and Valgrisanche are both run as joint operations these days so you can mix and match with a warm up drop on the Ruitor glacier then a couple of drops in the wonderful Valgrisanche finishing with a 17km 2000m vertical run back to a late lunch in Ste Foy . The Valgrisanche operation will come and pick you up from Ste Foy first thing or get a heli taxi to the PSB lift off point to be first in the Q .
Tarentaise Tours as I have said earlier are the best in the valley and have a first class relationship with the heli operators over the border in Italy .
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Cheers for the info. Maybe one day in Canada but have young family so stop sounds good in Europe. I'll check out the st found operation as a starting point. Probably cheaper and quieter than Zermatt too.
Cheers
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Mind you, James Orr looks great too.....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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It depends what you're looking for. You're not going to find a lot of safety differences in developed countries.
Iceland's the only place I have heli-skiied in Europe.
The stuff in the Alps operates a significantly different model. You just need to decide what you want.
Note that "James Orr" isn't a heli operator, it's a company acting as a travel-agent for some operators.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I can recommend Espace San Bernardo, best to stay in La Rosiere or St Foy rather than La Thuile in my opinion. Plenty of choice for guides, either from the ESF or Evo2 in La Ros or with an independent such as Luigi Rotti, go to the La Rosiere website for a listing.
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You know it makes sense.
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| philwig wrote: |
| Note that "James Orr" isn't a heli operator, it's a company acting as a travel-agent for some operators. |
That's not strictly true. For Canada he works with partners, but packages up the trip with accom/guides, combines cat and heli.
For Alagna, while he doesn't 'own' the helicopters, it's his package, arranging accom/guides etc. He's not booking other operators.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Beware the day trips on a heli.
They don't know you, they don't know the person next to you and you don't know either of them.
This usually results with safe scrabbling around, you might think it special because of the coin you are dropping but you are 3rd class cattle to the operators.
You will not be treated like a member of a private party doing unlimited vert in the A star but like some rookie grunt being marshalled around in a school crocodile out of a Huey also you will have to book months in advance and drop regardless of the snow conditions.
If you can remain loose take your family to a resort that offers Heliski pick ups in Europe, Italy more specifically ( Canadian resorts have too many bucket list tickers ) check the conditions the week before, the day before, the morning before and you might get a storm that finishes short midweek and book on, if not, take a guide out and do the same next year.
or
read 'no-one is too small to make a difference' and buy some skins.
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Poster: A snowHead
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for what it's worth while looking up heavy snowfall regions in Europe i read that the Arlberg region (and specifically the Warth - Schröcken skiing area) has among the best average snowfalls around. I've only done Solden as far as Austrian resorts go but Warth is definitely on my to do list... it might be worth checking out what heliski option you have around those parts. Also, if memory serves, i believe they have connected the whole Arlberg skiing areas with gondolas so you have a huge skiing area at your disposal also (but dont quote me on that)...
https://old.warth-schroecken.com/en/warth-schroecken-europes-snowiest-ski-area.html
https://www.weathertoski.co.uk/top-10s/top-10-snowiest-ski-resorts-europe/
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Wed 20-11-19 12:18; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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May be worth a wee look at the GnarliBuG as there is a similarly inclined contingent on that.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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!@Dorset Mogul, Paywall, can't see the article. 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Sorry @Mortonia. Google Baqueira Heliski, comes up as the third hit and no pay wall - bingo. Great video!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Dorset Mogul wrote: |
| Sorry @Mortonia. Google Baqueira Heliski, comes up as the third hit and no pay wall - bingo. Great video! |
The snow looks a bit less than great though. I've seen better snow on Royston golf course  I guess timing is all.
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