The other side of Kicking Horse Isn’t gnarly at all – and that suites some skiers just fine by Trent Edwards from Spring 2012 issue Since its rebirth 11 years ago, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, near Golden, B.C., has created and maintained a well-deserved reputation as one of the best places to find heli-skiing thrills on a lift-ticket budget…. More »
by George Koch in Western View from Winter 2012 issue As an international ski writer who spends virtually all winter on the slopes (it’s charming how many people I meet think that’s not a lie), I’m frequently asked whether I prefer heli-skiing or snowcat skiing. Canadian, European and American skiers are equally curious, although coming at it from different angles. Europeans, for… More »
A Hard Day’s Night If skiing non-stop for 24 hours straight sounds exhausting, you can always team up with friends and alternate relay-style like thousands of others do at Tremblant every year. December 10 is a fitting date to commemorate the 10th anniversary of eastern North America’s biggest fundraising ski event. Three days of festivities… More »
I read somewhere long ago that everyone should go to Greece at least once in his or her lifetime. I think that same goal should apply to a Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing pilgrimage. In fact, I think it’s necessary. Yes, I know it’s big, big coin for most skiers. But so is university tuition, root… More »
Alert readers will recall my chronicling of the Kicking Horse story since it began as a glimmer in the eye of Vancouver skier-visionary Oberto Oberti. I was an instant convert on the late spring day in 1998 when Oberti and local heli-skiing operator Rudi Gertsch flew me onto a peak thousands of feet above the… More »
Short Turns – Travel Guide 2009 Issue POLE JOKES It’s pretty tough to find a lift-line around Big White if you have to do some busking for your dinner so Wiegele heli-guide and visiting street entertainer Ron Betts prefers hanging out in front of restaurant exits for scraps. “So far I’ve been able to make… More »
Helicopters stood in silence, flags fluttered and people milled about on the broad plateau beneath Saddle Mountain, chatting or munching smoked salmon and other treats from a vast buffet spread on improvised tables carved from the compact spring snow. Mike Wiegele stood in the stiff April breeze and officially announced that Saddle Mountain Resort had… More »
It was a magical January day with Mica Heli Guides high in the Rocky Mountains northeast of Revelstoke. We were pausing between huge pitches to gaze at the mountains ringing us. Someone pointed out a hanging glacier clinging to an enormous mountainside, its toe cleaved into translucent blue seracs that periodically crack and tumble down… More »
Now that they’ve resolved their long-running battle as to who ranks second behind Whistler-Blackcomb for highest vertical drop in the country (Kicking Horse won), Panorama and Kicking Horse have little to fight about. The distinct flavours of the two mean there’s little competitive crossover between the Hwy 95 resorts to spark any internecine strife. If… More »
Recent headline news in my local newspaper read: Swiss government is considering banning helicopter skiing across the nation. It wasn’t the first time such a measure was officially considered. Back in 2000 a group of “ecolos,” as environmentalists are dubbed in French, led by an organization called Pro Natura and backed by the WWF, proposed… More »
Loading ...