heliskiing
Helicopter-accessed mountain slopes
Heliskiing is skiing on remote, pristine slopes accessed by helicopter rather than ski lifts.
The helicopter drops skiers at high elevations on unmarked terrain—typically deep powder in backcountry wilderness.
It's expensive and carries risks from avalanches and unmarked hazards, but offers untracked snow that lift-served resorts can't provide: We're going heliskiing in British Columbia next winter.
Fine dry particles
- backcountrySparsely populated wilderness areas
- glacierSlow-moving ice mass
- snowfieldPermanent snow accumulation area
- snowpackAccumulated mountain winter layers
chute · bowl · couloir · alpine · ridge · peak · summit · elevation
Uncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- explorationTraveling through unknown regions
- expeditionOrganized exploratory journey
- remoteDistant or controller
- unchartedNot yet documented
backcountry · frontier · discovery · thrill · adrenaline · extreme · rush · euphoria
Rapid mountain snow collapse
- rescueSave from harm
- transceiverDual-function communication device
- beaconGuiding light source
- probeThorough examination or tool
airbag · guide · briefing · conditions · frostbite · hypothermia · crevasse · emergency
Toward the bottom
powder
Fine dry particles
- backcountrySparsely populated wilderness areas
- glacierSlow-moving ice mass
- snowfieldPermanent snow accumulation area
snowpack · chute · bowl · couloir · alpine · ridge · peak · summit · elevation · slope
wilderness
Uncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- explorationTraveling through unknown regions
- expeditionOrganized exploratory journey
- remoteDistant or controller
uncharted · backcountry · frontier · discovery · thrill · adrenaline · extreme · rush · euphoria · exhilaration
avalanche
Rapid mountain snow collapse
- rescueSave from harm
- transceiverDual-function communication device
- beaconGuiding light source
probe · airbag · guide · briefing · conditions · frostbite · hypothermia · crevasse · emergency · protocol
downhill
Toward the bottom
- freerideUnearned benefit from others
- freestyleWithout prescribed technique
- carvingShaping by cutting away
turns · descent · run · line · transceiver · probe · rotation
chopper
Rotorcraft or cleaver
- rotorcraftAircraft lifted by blades
- pilotOne who steers aircraft
- landingDescent's final moment
takeoff · hover · airlift · cockpit · skids · rotor · flight · airborne · altitude · aviation
Alaska
America's frozen northwest
Hokkaido · Kamchatka · Iceland · Greenland · Patagonia · Chile · Caucasus · Kashmir · Kyrgyzstan
- Mountain Tourismcable car, chairlift, chalet, gondola, lodge
- air sportsskydiving, paragliding, hang gliding, wingsuit flying, parachuting