Go Heli-Skiing in British Columbia, CA, for the Best Day Ever

Great Canadian Heli-Skiing (GCHS) at Heather Mountain Lodge is looking for adventurous skiers who want to have the best day ever. Heather Mountain Lodge is a luxurious skiing resort located in Golden, British Columbia, CA, and it’s known for its amazing luxury ski vacations, where guests can ski on fresh powder snow.

Where is Golden, CA?

Golden, CA, is located in Southeastern British Columbia. The mountain town is 163 miles west of Calgary and 443 miles east of Vancouver. It is situated inside the Canadian Rockies and surrounded by the Banff, Glacier, Jasper, Kootenay, Mount Revelstoke, and Yoho national parks. The town has a year-round population of 3,986. The average snowfall is 72 inches per year, and it sits at an elevation of 2,600 feet.

What is Heli-Skiing?

If you love backcountry skiing, you’ll love heli-skiing. Heli-skiing is a recreational activity where you ride a helicopter to the top of a mountain instead of riding on a ski lift or chair lift. Once at the top of the mountain, the participants ski or snowboard down. The heli-skiers are often accompanied by a guide who leads them down the mountain. Adventurous skiers often prefer heli-skiing because they can see beautiful remote views and ski in virgin snow.

What Is the History of Heather Mountain Lodge in Golden, CA?

Heather Mountain Lodge is located halfway between Golden, CA, and Revelstoke, CA, on the edge of Glacier National Park. The lodge was originally built in 1996. The current adventure started in 2000 when Greg and Maaike Porter purchased Great Canadian Heli-Skiing from the previous owners. Greg and Maaike were drawn to the area due to Golden’s small, mountain town living. They were also fascinated with the concept of heli-skiing, which actually started in Canada. The Porters ran the business for 22 years until 2022.

At that time, the couple realized that they were ready for a change. It was time to sell their heli-skiing business. As they navigated through the listing and sales process, they were overwhelmed with all the interest. Many individuals and corporations were interested in purchasing the property. However, one duo stood out. Their names were Andy Culp and Brock Strasbourger. They were just the buyers that Greg and Maaike Porter were looking for, and the deal closed just in time for the 2022/2023 season.

The luxury heli-skiing lodge is committed to taking small groups of skiers to the top of the mountain so that they can have the best day ever.

Basecamp at Heather Mountain Lodge

Heather Mountain Lodge is a comfortable and luxurious base camp. It was remodeled and upgraded in 2019, and it offers all the modern amenities that anyone could want in a remote mountain lodge while giving off the perfect rustic vibe. The lodge offers a hot tub, ski shop, heated pathway, sauna, cell phone coverage, WiFi, and an on-site massage therapist. The rooms boast coffee machines, deep soaking tubs to relax your muscles after a day of skiing, and flat-screen TVs with satellite reception. They even have a backcountry bar called the Woolly Toque.

Heli-Skiing from Heather Mountain Lodge

Great Canadian Heli-Skiing has a license that allows them to offer heli-skiing in a 31 by 28-mile section of fantastic mountain terrain. The area is known for its wonderful powder snow, fantastic weather, and amazing ski runs. In fact, the average ski run ranges from 1,500 to 2,500 vertical feet. The maximum ski run is 6,232 feet. The highest peak in Great Canadian Heli-Skiing’s area is 10,100 feet, and most runs start at heights between 5,500 and 9,000 feet. To make it even better, GCHS typically only has two no-fly days per year. In other areas of Canada, they can experience as many as one bad ski day a week.

Enjoy a day at Heather Mountain Lodge in Canada.

A heli-skiing vacation at Great Canadian Heli-Skiing is a wondrous thing. The adventures start the night you arrive. Check-in starts at 6 PM, but if a group arrives early, it’s not a problem for Heather Mountain Lodge. Everyone can simply enjoy a drink in the backcountry bar.

Once everyone is checked in and settled, dinner starts at 7 PM in the lodge. After dinner, the guests are taken to the Ski Room to have their equipment inspected. After all the equipment passes inspection, guests can enjoy another drink in the bar or retire to their rooms for a quiet evening.

Breakfast starts at 7:30 AM. By that time, the pilot and ski trail guides have gotten the weather report, decided on the best place to ski and pre-flighted the helicopters.

On the first day, everyone participates in a heli-briefing and some basic search and rescue training from 8:30 to 10 AM.

At 9 AM, after the first day, the helicopters start departing for their ski run destinations.

Once the helicopter has landed, the skiing starts and continues until 12:30 PM. At that time, a trail lunch is prepared. This usually consists of tea and soup to help the skiers warm up and prepare for the second half of their ski adventure.

After lunch, everyone skis until about 3:30 PM. It’s important to note that the departure time from the mountain can change depending on when the sun sets.

Snacks are provided in the Ski Room once the groups get back to the lodge. From 5 PM until 7 PM, guests can enjoy some free time.

Dinner is served at 7 PM. After dinner, the guests can relax in their rooms, enjoy the hot tub and sauna, get a massage, or have a drink in the backcountry bar.

In the winter, the Canadian Rocky Mountains become the perfect location for some backcountry snowboarding and skiing, and the adventure gets even more exciting when you take a helicopter up the mountain to your ski run. Not to mention, at GCHS, each package comes with unlimited vertical. This means that you can ski for as long as your legs can handle it. Are you up for the adventure?

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