GETTING STARTED High far and fast That’s what heliskiers like They want to stretch their limits They already know how to ski They want to take it up a notch Helicopters carry them to reach high mountains in remote areas When the skiers step out of the helicopter fresh snow stretches for miles around them No one has skied there yet Heliskiers make their own trails A piste is a trail that has been marked for skiers Off-piste skiing is not marked It takes skiers off the beaten path Heliskiers are big-mountain skiers who find difficult slopes and tackle them with style They may find a Crashing through fresh powder is the dream of every heliskier 6
mountain filled with twists and turns There could be cliffs to jump off There may be long open stretches to speed down Every mountain is different Every time they ski they face a new challenge Skiing down an unmarked trail is more challenging than a regular run 7
THE HISTORY OF HELISKIING Hans Gmoser grew up in Austria He loved the outdoors He spent his time climbing up mountains then skiing right back down them Hans moved to Canada in the 1950s and began to explore the mountains there Some of them were hard to reach He had to climb for Hans Gmoser 1932 2006 Hans Gmoser combined his movie-making skills with his love of skiing to create a new sport days just to find good places to ski Hans told his friend Art Patterson about this problem Art had an idea Why not go in a helicopter At first Hans thought this was a crazy idea Helicopters cost money but walking was free Still he agreed to try it One day in 1963 the two got in a helicopter and 8
flew into the mountains in Western Canada There they found new places to ski The trip was a success Hans made a film about his experience When other people saw it they wanted to try helicopter skiing too Hans started a business giving heliskiing tours A new sport was born 9 Not Just Skis Don’t forget the snowboarders Heliboarders also like to hit the high mountains They look for new ways to challenge their snowboarding skills
