British Columbia offers up some of the most consistent deep powder on the planet! There are so many choices in BC when it comes to heli ski operations, so let me make it easy for you to choose: I partner with Kingfisher Heli. With 300,000 acres in the Central Monashees, the Pinnacles, and the Valhalla Mountains as your playground and an average annual snowfall of 60 feet, this is heli skiing at its finest. Private access to virtually limitless terrain allows guests to enjoy fresh tracks every run and ski a diverse variety of terrain from untouched pillow lines to stunning alpine bowls.

LODGING and PACKAGES:

Accommodations: Stay at Halcyon Hot Springs Resort. Each guest has their own private en-suite king cottage. The helicopter picks you up and drops you off right next door! Situated on beautiful Upper Arrow Lake, with views of the soaring Monashee Mountains unfolding before them, the Lithia-rich healing pools are the centerpieces of Halcyon Hot Springs. You can relax and immerse yourself in the beneficial mineral waters with a soak in hot or warm pools, and partake in cryo-therapy in the cold plunge. The spa offers massage, yoga and a variety of wellness treatments.  

TRAVEL: Kingfisher is located in Nakusp, BC. The easiest way to get there is via the international airport in Kelowna, BC (YLW). There are direct flights to this airport from a number of Canadian hubs, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Victoria — as well as flights from Seattle, WA.  Ground transfers to your lodge are included for all packages. There are heli transfer options if weather permits, for an additional cost.

SEASON: The season for heli packages at Kingfisher is generally January through March.

BOOKING: These BC packages are amazing and the heli experience there is truly unique. When you combine that with a focus on small, intimate group sizes, the result is a pretty competitive booking process. Many prime dates book out a solid year in advance. Call me to talk about your ideal dates and what is available on the calendar for this coming season and the one following. Booking well ahead is the way to go here!

TERRAIN AND SNOW QUALITY: BC is known for big mountains and deep powder, and Kingfisher has the goods. There are 300,000 acres of terrain in the tenure to choose from, and we tailor our choice of terrain based on individual group ability levels and snowpack conditions. There are terrain options for virtually all ability levels – from wide open lower angle slopes to steep faces and couloirs. The amount of terrain to choose from seems limitless – there are beautiful lines very close to the lodges, and dizzying layers of opportunity as we move deeper into the ranges. Individual runs tend to be in the 2,000 – 3,500 vertical feet range. The number of runs and total vertical groups ski in a given day and/or trip varies depending on a number of factors. We focus on delivering the best experience we can given current conditions. January through March tend to provide great powder skiing; as the weather warms into April, conditions can transition to corn snow.

HELI / GUIDE STAFF: I work with a truly awesome team of guides and pilots in BC. The pilots are very experienced in the mountains who take the prime directive of “safety first” very seriously. We only fly in A-Star B3s, which are the very best helicopters for small group heli skiing. When in BC, I work with a small team of other guides and snow safety professionals; together we focus on safety and delivering the best possible experiences for our guests!

SAFETY:  Safety is always my primary concern, regardless of location, and I’m very careful when it comes to choosing who I work with! In BC, our team has top notch pilots, the best helicopters, and a very experienced guide staff. Together, we make safety the priority all day every day. When injuries do occur, guides have basic medical equipment in their backpacks, with more advanced medical equipment on the helicopter. In the unlikely case of serious injury in the field, we stop everything and focus on getting the injured party to an appropriate medical facility.