Heliboarding has come up as a popular sport in the past few years and is perhaps inspired by the success of heliskiing. While Heliboarding is more or less the same as snowboarding, the only difference lies in the way you reach the top of a run- by helicopter! This means that you have the added thrill of heliboarding (or helicopter skiing, as it is sometimes called) down slopes that would be difficult, and in some cases impossible, to reach by hiking or by cable car.
While Heli Skiing can be traced as far back as the 1960s, heliboarding as sport is younger and came a few years later. A popular winter sport, it is believed to have originated in the United States, having evolved from skateboarding and surfing. The popularity of heliskiing is essentially what gave rise to other exciting variations like Heliboarding. The surface area of a snowboard makes it an exceptional way to ride deep powder. That fact combined with the explosive growth of snowboarding in the last decade has many skiers choosing to go heliboarding instead of heliskiing.
Different Types of Helicopter Skiing or Heliboarding
Heli-boarding or helicopter skiing is becoming very popular with variations like extreme or big mountain heliboarding becoming the ultimate adrenalin sport to do or watch. Heli-boarding and heli-skiing share three popular styles: Powder, Big Mountain and Mini-golf.
Powder Heli-skiing or Heli-Boarding:
Powder is the reason anyone goes heliskiing or heliboarding. Cruising down vast ice fields covered in 4-6 meters of deep dry untracked powder snow, dropping into the naturally gladded trees where the sun and wind cannot affect the snow quality is what heliskiing and heliboarding are all about.
Big Mountain Heli-Boarding or Heli-skiing:
Big Mountain Heli-boarding or Heli-Skiing focuses on speed and carving big turns on big features. It's all about riding steep exposed lines, spines and couloirs at high-speed, racing the slough (sliding snow) down a high alpine mountain. This is the type of skiing and snowboarding you see in movies like “The Hit List” by Matchstick Productions www.mspfilms.com, “Soul Purpose” by TGR, “From_with love” by the Community Project or “War” by Poor-Boys.
Mini golf Heli-Boarding or Heli-Skiing :
This style of Heli-boarding and heli-skiing focuses on bringing terrain park-style riding to the back country. It involves doing tricks on natural and man made obstacles on short steep lines and terrain features from cornices, to cliffs, step-downs, pillow drops and entire mountain faces. The K2 Back9 Mini Golf invitational held in March of 2006 in Whistler is an example of the rise in popularity of this type of skiing and snowboarding.
Canada, especially BC (British Columbia), offers some of the most amazing powder skiing. Consequently, ski trips and heliboarding opportunities in BC are considered some of the best in the world. However, no matter how exciting the sport, you do need a good, reliable tour organizer to manage all the essentials and ensure a fun- filled, safe vacation. After all, taking a vacation shouldn't be a logistical headache!
With Mica Heliskiing, you can be sure of all the fun and excitement of heli-boarding along with the comfort of luxury accommodation. Our small groups, vast terrain, deep dry snow, and personalized attention are just few of the things that will keep you coming back for more. Our lead guide, Craig Ellis, is an expert boarder and knows how to choose runs ideally suited for heli-boarding. We even have a beautiful backcountry lodge to ensure that you also have quality relaxation time apart from a perfect heli-boarding and helicopter skiing BC experience.
Take a look at the Photo Gallery at www.micaheli.com for an amazing visual treat and also an idea of what you could get in a Mica Heli Guides' heliboarding and skiing helicopter adventure package. You could also log on to our site for the information on the latest packages, map, directions and arrival, weather conditions, hotels, airfare, rates and reservations, and more.
With a million acres of deep, dry, Rocky Mountains powder lying beneath your feet and all around - waiting for just you, your three friends and your guide, you can be sure of having the best heli-skiing or heli-boarding adventure you could imagine! So, what are you waiting for? |
