Are you heli-ready?

“Am I a good enough skier/rider to go heli-skiing?” It’s a common question.

You don’t want to be stressed your entire trip, wondering if your skills and pace will cut it. We get it. We want you to have an incredible experience, too. CMH can easily be the best time of your life – but only if you’re ready for it. Part of this is being honest with yourself, and honest with us about your current abilities. 

To make sure you’re 100% ready to live your downhill dreams, we hope you can answer the following with an enthusiastic HELI YES. 

CMH-ready checklist

Can you answer ‘yes’ to these 6 questions? 

Most CMH trips are 3-7 days long. Your muscles are up to this task, and your cardio fitness means you can sustain a consistent pace – whether it’s more relaxed or fast – with some breaks. (For most people, this means regular exercise 2-3 times per week all year long). 

Even if your form isn’t fantastic while you do so, you’re at a minimum able to navigate the type of terrain typically found on “black diamond” rated runs. 

It's not always possible to access perfect snow conditions every moment of every day when heli-skiing. Depending on the weather, the area you’re skiing in, and safety decisions by your guide, you may encounter sections of snow that are tracked, cruddy, crusted, heavy or deep, with flat light or low visibility. Even if you find conditions like these less comfortable, you can still make it through them at your own pace. 

While heli-skiing, you’ll be guided through terrain that is at times treed and/or steep. This may be only a short section of a run, or you might spend back-to-back days in tighter trees due to stormy weather or avalanche stability. Even if you don’t regularly spend a ton of time in this type of terrain, you can still descend through it if needed. 

You’ll have more success heli-skiing if you practice various terrain types and snow conditions at your local resort in the lead-up to your trip. 

Heli-skiing is wilderness skiing and riding in an uncontrolled and wild mountain environment. Terrain is unmarked, ungroomed and includes potential hazards. 

Your guides are constantly evaluating the terrain, the conditions, group dynamics, and other factors to minimize potential hazards and to make the best decisions possible. 

However, despite the most diligent efforts to reduce hazards, incidents can still occur. 

Continue learning Ask us questions 

All good? Great! Keep exploring or contact our team to book your trip.

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First-time heli-skier?

Here’s what we think you should know