 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Bergmeister, completely different to my experiences in 2002 and 2003. Skiers counted in at each stop, pack man sweeping (I understand CMH have two guides per group in Galena now).
Don't quite know what the journalist got paid for to write this. Mostly sensationalist nonsense.
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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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It is not like my experience but I can see how perhaps it could be like this. I don't see why under a new name should call it sensationalist nonsense - it clearly was his experience.
It didn't seem to me to be much different to normal offpiste skiing with a fairly adventurous guide (except you did twice as many descents), but our guide did do quite long fast descents without stopping (perhaps half a mile) so he would have been no use to help directly if someone had got into trouble - especially among the trees. I don't remember a sweeper system - how could it operate in the trees? We all had backpacks with shovel and probe etc as is normal for all off-piste, so I'm not sure what the sweeper's pack consisted of?
The buddy system was much as he said (it was mentioned but not enforced) and alternating the lead would probably have kept us a bit closer together. It rather depended on you being individually sensible as with normal off-piste.
We didn't have nice new powder, and the recent stuff had been wind-blasted so almost anything above the tree line was proper breakable crust, but the tree skiing was great. They said it was the worst snow conditions they had had but they probably say that regularly. We didn't get any new snow so didn't ski in any snow storms.
I can't say I felt especially in danger as I ski off piste most of the time and had done a few Helicopter drops before, and I don't think any of the others did either. The mountains were smaller and rounder than the ones I'm used to in the Alps so in a way it felt less extreme and we didn't ski anything particularly steep. I'm used to not having any other tracks in sight but knowing the company had 2 million acres with only us skiing it was extraordinary.
We were based at Stewart on the British Columbia/Alaska border with Last Frontier Heli skiing. We were the first year they used the lodge and I gather it has since closed. We had one Helicopter which flew 2 groups of 6 people (5 plus guide). Probably 3 groups would have been economically better since it often had to wait and this may be why it closed. I chose it because they seemed to ski slightly steeper slopes than the other Canadian lodges (their own Bell Lodge for example) but didn't have the high number of no-fly days due to the weather which they get in Alaska (about half!!! I couldn't afford that since I knew I could probably only afford to do this once).
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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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snowball, I only think it was somewhat sensationalist as what else would you expect from a deep mountain experience?
I was with TLH (same operation as Last Frontier) and only the guide and bagman had packs, shovels and probes. We all had transponders and I think the helos had large ones. At the time the idea was that the guides and pilots could find burials quicker if guests weren't in the way.
can't recall how the sweeping worked (if at all) in trees.
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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 Heliskiiing with these guys the previous two seasons before this accident (92,93) with the same pilot Tom Sharp and ski guide Mike Friedman (Mike was one of the founders of Telluride Helitrax) who is a leading Avalanche expert . Search on google Mike Friedman "Ode to Avalanche"
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20107880,00.html
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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under a new name, perhaps my group of 5 just happened to all have our own equipment - my friend and I always ski with packs and the other group of 3 were French.
I can see how recollection can get retrospectively tinged by an experience like that.
I was very slightly disappointed by my experience. Certainly pound for pound a couple of weeks of good Alpine off piste is better value and can include more exciting skiing (though Alaska might put a different slant on that last)
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snowball, hmmm, yeah, I can appreciate your point. Two heli experiences in and one was quite amazing and the other was a write off (5 days down out of 6)
Anyway, I've just booked to go to Galena (the base mentioned) on the immensely positive experience of a friend who reports outstanding steep skiing in all of 6 weeks in the last 3 years.
Will report!
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I enjoyed reading that. And reminded me why I would never take a CMH style trip. Paying all that money to ski with a random load of people like the Germans mentioned, out of shape US Surgeons and god knows who else.
I had been cat-skiing a few times and had issues like this before. We had one old boy with us and he fell asleep on the ride back up each time!!
snowball, makes a very valid point
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I was very slightly disappointed by my experience. Certainly pound for pound a couple of weeks of good Alpine off piste is better value and can include more exciting skiing (though Alaska might put a different slant on that last)
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I would only punt for a trip up to AK. I suspect very much I would be dissapointed by a CMH style trip.
Far better to go to a touring style lodge such as http://www.selkirkexperience.com/
For me much more rewarding
Last edited by After all it is free  on Sun 6-03-11 12:35; edited 1 time in total
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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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A very interesting article. And some genuine issues raised. Yes it is written with a subtext, but it speaks to his personal experience.
Perhaps the interaction of a mountain environment with a bunch of a high-achievers with high-incomes and high expectations - including of perfect ego-flattering snow served on a plate. It could risk being a mechanism where the chief goal is to deliver manageable flattering skiing for well-off people who have not really "earned those turns". And it can bite back, especially if there is a macho "no friends on a powder day" ethos.
I had my first day Heli-skiing in Switzerland this year, and it allowed us to access some glaciated terrain which would have taken a day and a half on skins. Snow varying from sastrugi to crust to powder, and a bit of a walk out to the pick-up point, and then up again, and again. What was fascinating for me, was how the party member who (I believe) had suggested it, and who had not exactly been reticent about regaling us with his heli-ski experiences, perhaps struggled initially, didn't like the walk-out, tried to get the guides to alter the route so he didn't have to walk out etc etc. The rest of us had a blast.
I think one can have too much caviar, too much champagne and that for moments of experience to be really memorably pleasurable, they have to be interspersed with less perfect moments, and accompanied by good companions.
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stoatsbrother, No pain no Gain 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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norris, You certainly don't appreciate the gain as much without it. As posted elsewhere - my best run of the season (now over for me) involved skinning.
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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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FAQ
comment on whether the article is a true reflection of what could be expected on a heli trip? 
