A MAIN STREET HOME BASE, AND ETHOS, SETS THIS B.C. HELI-SKI OP APART
As the throbbing of the departing helicopter picks up in tempo a cloud of dry, light snow crystals swirls and then subsides. Soon the mountaintop is quiet, except for anticipatory blurts from the guests and the guide’s confident instructions, letting the group know what they’ll be enjoying over the next half hour.
It’s the start of a typical run at Stellar Heliskiing, except there isn’t really a “typical” run at Stellar. On one hand, it’s the place that is so often name-checked in the credits of cutting-edge ski films, serving as the backdrop for the sport’s top athletes to play on its big-mountain lines. But it’s also the place where unassuming groups of friends who aren’t trying to impress one another make their mark on gentle alpine bowls at their own pace.
Stellar can be both these things and everything in between because it runs a boutique program within which two nimble A-star helicopters cater to groups of just four skiers. It’s a set-up that lets the walkie-talkie-toting Stellar staff make the most of what they’ve been given. And they’ve been given quite a lot. Their tenure is more than 50,000 hectares in size, spreading over two mountain ranges; the mighty Selkirks and Purcells. But right in the middle lies the beating heart of the whole operation, Stellar’s home base in the historic town of Kaslo, British Columbia.
OUT OF THIS WORLD,
NOT OUT OF TOUCH
Whereas most heli-ski operations pose as exclusive alpine redoubts, Stellar proudly takes its place front and centre in the compact downtown of this former mining town on the shores of Lake Kootenay. Founding couple Jason Remple and Kerry Luckey had already been running Stellar for 17 years, growing slowly, when they bought the three-story Kaslo Hotel in 2022.
Heli-ski guests stay and eat here, but so do locals, visiting snowmobilers, and more, providing what chief guide Martin Keyserlingk calls a colourful cast of characters that is anything but pretentious. The 17-room hotel is a full-service heli-ski basecamp itself, complete with restaurant, bar, hot tub, sauna and massage studio, but perhaps its greatest amenity is its front door, which opens onto downtown Kaslo and its various charms, like the restored S.S. Moyie, the oldest intact sternwheeler in the world. Instead of spending après ski splayed out on a couch punching in a Starlink password, Stellar guests might step out to fortify themselves with something from the Angry Hen microbrewery or some homemade jerky from the Meat Market (serving Kaslo since 1942) and take a stroll along the riverside or beachfront trails. Further afield there are, as Keyserlingk points out, “all these yoga studios up in the woods” and the Ainsworth hot springs just south of town.
Photos: Nick Diamond, Kettler Thomas
The Kaslo factor pays dividends behind the scenes, too. The best way to keep guests happy is to keep staff happy. And how does Stellar keep staff happy? They hire locals, explains Keyserlingk. The whole hotel side, and increasingly the guiding ranks, are drawn from locals who can live in Kaslo (or in Nelson, less than an hour’s drive away) and work at Stellar as part of a normal life. At Stellar, staff can go home at night instead of doing extended shifts at a remote, fly-in posting. It helps keep the Stellar vibe down-to-earth and positive.
MADE TO ORDER
Of course, not all heli-skiers spend as long in Kaslo as they should. Located between Nelson and Revelstoke, Stellar is well situated to accommodate Powder Highway road-trippers who want to tack on a day, or two, of heli-skiing to a resort itinerary.
Whether a day at Stellar is a one-off treat or part of a week-long stay, it will unfold according to the tested Stellar formula. It starts with a five-minute drive to “The Hanger.” Part aerodrome, part man cave, The Hanger is the nerve centre of Stellar’s daytime operations and lets the guests get an intimate look at the inner workings of how Stellar pulls it off. You won’t find another heli-ski operation where guests can lounge on a couch and connect to the Bluetooth speaker while their friends get set up with rental skis, all the while watching the pilots do a safety check of their machines.
Photos: Nick Diamond, Kettler Thomas
Guides get all the props but it’s those pilots that will be the unsung heroes of the day. They need to know the expansive tenure like it’s their backyard. The fact that some pilots have been working for Stellar for 10 years helps when it’s time to get the guides right where they want to be for their group. That could be anywhere from high alpine bowls up to 3,000m in elevation, to steep old-growth tree lines; from wide open glacier runs to tight couloirs. Or maybe it’s a day to drop some pillow lines, a feature for which Stellar is famous. It’s all refreshed almost daily by an annual snowfall that regularly tops 18m. Average runs drop about 700 vertical metres, but the guide is always attuned to putting groups right where the skiers’ ability level, or collective sense of adventure, dictates.
After a morning of the guide catering to the guests’ taste in terrain, it’s time for catering of a different sort. Out come the avalanche shovels and a table quickly takes shape for the on-mountain lunch. It’s simple, but satisfying fare, though the views do make it a challenge to pay much attention to the food. But, better than the food and even the view is the sound of that returning helicopter. It’s the signal for the guides to fold up the tablecloth and, with a twinkle in the eye, look to their fortified group and ask, “Who wants to get back to heli-skiing?”
