Imagine standing on top of a mountain overlooking a sea of peaks as far as the eye can see. Millions of acres at your fingertips for you to rip to your heart’s content. That’s what great Canadian heli skiing is about. The next question is which Canadian heli skiing operation should you pick? Our answer: Northern Escape Heli Skiing in Terrace, BC. And if you let them know Local Freshies® referred you, you’ll get a FREE pair of goggles. Scroll down to learn more.
Third Time Is The Charm
We’ve attempted to cross this off our bucket list not once but TWICE. The first time was on our snowy moon but the weather didn’t want to cooperate. And now this winter, the Canadian border was closed. After this year’s lift line apocalypse and the explosion of backcountry novices causing avalanches at an unprecedented rate, we’ve decided next winter is THE year to plan a great Canadian heli skiing trip.
How Did We Come Up With Northern Escape Heli
You must be wondering why did we pick Northern Escape? Besides safety being #1, we were looking for a place that gets a lot of snow and has options if the weather doesn’t cooperate. We also want a cool lodge to enjoy after a day of shredding the pow. After looking through all the options, the one that bubbled up to the top of our list for the great Canadian heli skiing outfit was Northern Escape.
Some Of The Most Snow On The Planet
To give you an idea of how much snow Northern Escape’s mountains really get, let’s set the stage. The snowiest ski resort on the planet is a small place called Mt. Baker in Washington. On average, they receive roughly 647 inches of snow annually. The mountains you’re going to be heli skiing receive on AVERAGE somewhere between 700 and 1,100 inches of snow. That’s insane!
The Best Of Both Worlds
As anyone who’s skied the mountains of the Western United States (i.e. Lake Tahoe, Oregon, Washington), the heavier snow literally shellacs onto mountains allowing for you to ski steeper backcountry terrain more often. On the other side of the spectrum, you have interior mountains like the Rockies that create “cold smoke” powder that as skiers and snowboarders we love to shred but often creates a dangerous mix of avalanche instability. Northern Escape is the best of BOTH worlds! How can that be? Well, the proximity to the ocean creates a reliable snowpack. And due to its far northerly location, snow comes down as drier than anything you’d find in its cousins to the south. Mother Nature’s perfect recipe.
Diverse Terrain Gives You A Backup Plan
If you’ve read anything about Alaskan heli skiing, due to it being so close to the ocean, the snow sticks to everything. The only issue is the storms that come off the Pacific are massive, and you might be lucky to only get one day of skiing in a week. This is because the terrain is pretty much all above tree-line. In addition to accessing alpine bowls, immense glaciers, and steep couloirs, another advantage this great Canadian heli skiing operations has is it can access epic tree skiing when the weather doesn’t want to cooperate.
Cat Skiing Is A Backup To The Backup
Even the best heli skiing operations have down days. It’s too windy. Too foggy. Or just too snowy. Most call it quits. Not Northern Escape. Instead, they have three snow cats always on stand-by to keep you skiing and snowboarding in storms. You’re in no way getting a “Plan B” either. They’ve invested so much in their cat skiing operation that it’s just as good as ANY cat skiing operation out there. In fact, many of their top cat skiing runs are gladed to make them even more fun. They even guarantee that you’ll get as much vertical in a day as you would get flying one of the birds.
Small Group Sizes
The goal of heli skiing is to get away from the crowds. Many heli skiing operations fly multiple Bell 212’s that can fit up to twelve each, taking away from the intimacy of the mountains and possibly a “rush” that nobody likes. Northern Escape flies an Agusta Koala which can only fit up to six people. And for a given day, there will be only EIGHTEEN guests out there across the 1.4 MILLION ACRES. Talk about VIP.
“Ferrari” Helicopters
Their three Agust Koala helicopters are like the Ferrari of the skies. Nimble. Fast. Koala’s are known for their safety and landing capabilities exceeding any other helicopter in the business. This means the ability to access unique terrain and allows you to get more vertical. One word: YEEEWWWWW!!!!
Great New Accommodations
To go alongside the Ferraris of the sky, they’ve upgraded their lodging in 2020 too. A quintessential Canadian mountain chalet. Nestled on the shores of an alpine lake deep in the Skeena mountain wilderness, it gives you all the amenities you’d want after a hard day skiing powder. A massage room. Ski shop. Game room, lounge areas, and even lightning fast wi-fi. As we said above, the lodge only accommodates eighteen guests, so you’ll feel like you own the place.
Book 2021/22 Now To Save Big… AND Get A FREE Pair Of Goggles
If we got you excited at the idea of visiting Northern Escape Heli next winter, you should book now to get the EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT. Reserve a spot for next season by April 30th, 2021 and you’ll SAVE thousands. To sweeten the deal even more, if you let them know that Local Freshies® referred you, we’ve partnered with Wildhorn Outfitters so that you get a FREE pair of Wildhorn Googles of your choosing as well.
Or… Join Local Freshies®
The plans are in the works that we’re heading up to Terrace, BC next winter to partake in everything this great Canadian heli skiing outfit has. We don’t know when just yet, but we’ll know more in late summer / early fall of 2021. While you may not get the discount, if you do reserve a spot on our trip, the free pair of Wildhorn Goggles will still be available to you plus we’ll all get to ride / ski together for what we already know will be an epic ski trip.
