There was once a time where heli-skiing was purely the arena of the well heeled. Dentists and retired wannabe’s getting the goods that the core ski-bums (and I use that term with great affection) could never possibly afford. It was the domain of dreams – the sort of ideal where you fall asleep at night hoping to wake up in bed with a sugar-mama or at least a suitcase full of cash stashed under the bed frame. But alas for the vast majority of those that truly would give appendages and yet-to-be conceived offspring the dream of heli-skiing remains just that – a dream.
But maybe not any more. Last weekend I went heli-skiing in the mountains of New Zealand and it cost me a hundred bucks US! That’s right US$100!! This wasn’t some sort of bro-deal or a fly-by-night op where the sense of impending doom floats like stale cigarette smoke – no this was on the up and up. There is of course a small catch – this isn’t the sort of heli-skiing where Hans your Austrian guide instructs you to make, “nicccce svlolom tunz!” as you ski to the five-star lodge. You are on your own here, left to your own devices. Oh, and the chopper isn’t quite at your beck and call – it’s coming back in 3 days to take you home.
So off I went into the Fjordland Mountains with 6 friends for 3 days of fun in the snow. The chopper dropped the team off at a secluded mountain hut where we climbed into the peaks and skied fresh tracks under the winter sun. It was hard work, and not the utopian heli-ski experience that most people lust for - but it was perhaps even better then this perceived ideal. We had miles of terrain all to ourselves, a hut to call a home and the satisfaction of climbing everything that we skied.
We skied as much as we could; hiking run after run till our legs and daylight finally gave out. We were the kings and queens of the mountains, surveying a kingdom of hills that were ours alone to discover. Was it a hundred bucks well spent? Have a look at these pics and decide for yourself – but my mind’s been made up ever since the first turn…
But maybe not any more. Last weekend I went heli-skiing in the mountains of New Zealand and it cost me a hundred bucks US! That’s right US$100!! This wasn’t some sort of bro-deal or a fly-by-night op where the sense of impending doom floats like stale cigarette smoke – no this was on the up and up. There is of course a small catch – this isn’t the sort of heli-skiing where Hans your Austrian guide instructs you to make, “nicccce svlolom tunz!” as you ski to the five-star lodge. You are on your own here, left to your own devices. Oh, and the chopper isn’t quite at your beck and call – it’s coming back in 3 days to take you home.
So off I went into the Fjordland Mountains with 6 friends for 3 days of fun in the snow. The chopper dropped the team off at a secluded mountain hut where we climbed into the peaks and skied fresh tracks under the winter sun. It was hard work, and not the utopian heli-ski experience that most people lust for - but it was perhaps even better then this perceived ideal. We had miles of terrain all to ourselves, a hut to call a home and the satisfaction of climbing everything that we skied.
We skied as much as we could; hiking run after run till our legs and daylight finally gave out. We were the kings and queens of the mountains, surveying a kingdom of hills that were ours alone to discover. Was it a hundred bucks well spent? Have a look at these pics and decide for yourself – but my mind’s been made up ever since the first turn…
2 comments:
Arghhhh!
You make-a-me crazy!
boo-hoo-hahaha!
that was the plan - hey can i borrow a hundred bucks, i'm keen to go heli-skiing again????
SK
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