A Day In The Life at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing!
My name is John Forrest. I'm the President and General Manager of Northern Escape Heli-Skiing. I've been guiding for... getting pretty close to 40 years now, and I’ve been at Northern Escape for 20 years. I'm an ACMG-certified ski guide, and I've been guiding pretty much my entire life.
What should I expect when arriving at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing on the Yellow Cedar Package?
Well, when a guest first arrives at the Terrace Airport, we meet them there. Typically, for the Yellow Cedar Package, they'll arrive in the evening of the first day of their package. We pick them up—We've got this really sweet four-wheel drive, 24-passenger bus. They jump in the bus and it's about a 25-minute to 30-minute drive to Yellow Cedar Lodge. Good highways, good roads, no problem at all.
When a guest first arrives at Yellow Cedar, the guest goes straight into our kind of meet-and-greet area which is in our lounge. You're met there where the bartender has a welcome drink or a champagne for you. We do a welcome toast to say "Welcome to Northern Escape!" The ski shop guy is there, as well as a guide, and the guide will give you a quick briefing and a rundown of what the conditions have been for the week leading up to now and what to expect for the week coming up. Then, the ski shop guy usually takes over, and he starts getting your skis, your poles, your snowboards, and whatever you need ready to go.
Once you finish that, there are snacks and a bunch of Tapas to munch on. It's actually a hearty evening meal that you can have before you go to bed and get ready for the next morning.
What should I expect when arriving at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing on the Mountain Lodge Package?
So when the guests first arrive off the Terrace Airport and they're going to the Mountain Lodge, they're again met by one of our staff sitting there with a sign that says "Northern Escape" on it, and it's about a 15-minute drive, 20-minute drive to a staging area where they'll meet the helicopter for their flight into the lodge. Then once you're in the helicopter, it's probably a 5-minute flight across the river and through the mountains up to the Mountain Lodge. You'll land right in front of the lodge, and again you'll be met by some of our staff. They'll start unloading the luggage out of the helicopter while you're ushered into the lodge. And when you first arrive, there's the "Welcome!" champagne drink sitting there. You get an introduction to the other staff that's there. You get a tour around the lodge and we show you around and then we get ready to get into the skiing program.
What is the first day like at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing?
So after a great night's sleep, the next morning, people wake up. We've got a stretch class for everyone that starts at 7:00 AM. And so all the guests that want to, are welcome to go to a stretch class our massage therapist puts on, which gets you all limbered up and ready for your day skiing. The breakfast starts at 7:30 AM, then at about the same time you're wrapping up breakfast, one of the guides will come in and give you a briefing on what to expect for the day. Temperatures, snow conditions, new snow overnight, all that sort of stuff. And then you'll get ready for your first day's activities. You'll be doing the waiver and getting all the paperwork done before you go, and then you'll do a "beacon briefing," which goes over how to use the avalanche transceiver – how it works, you'll get to try a couple scenarios with it. You'll go through all the other equipment that you have, like the airbike backpacks, shovels and probes and all that stuff that everyone carries with them each day. You take a look at your rental gear, make sure that it all fits. Next, you go out and do a helicopter safety brief and the guide will take you around the helicopter and tell you how to get in and out and emergency procedures and all that sort of stuff. Finally, the first groups usually leave around 8:45 AM - 9:00 AM.
What is the first flight at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing like?
When the guests first depart, especially if it's their first helicopter flight, it can be pretty exhilarating. For a lot of the guests, it is their first flight and the flight to the top of the first run is going to be 6 to 8 minutes probably, through some of the most incredible terrain you can imagine as you're skiing through the mountains. When they land at the top and when the helicopter departs for the first time, it's one of my favourite moments to look over at the guests and see their sense of utter amazement and awe as they look around the mountains and just see nothing but massive mountains and snow.
What happens if the weather is too bad for heli-skiing at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing?
You can't go Heli Skiing unless there's lots of snow, and lots of snow doesn't come from blue skies. So when it's snowing, sometimes when it's snowing too hard, you just can't fly. At other lodges, you'll spend a day eating and drinking and playing Go Fish in the lodge. Whereas with us, we've got Snow-Cat backup! And so, we'll get in the helicopter, and we'll try to go Heli-Skiing, and if the weather just doesn't allow us to do it, we land at a staging area where our Snow Cats are parked, and we get in a Snow Cat and the Snow Cat drives us up and we spend the day going Catskiing! The Northern Escapes Catski area that we use for backup skiing is about the size of one of the largest Alpine Ski Resorts in the world. It's much bigger than Whistler-Blackcomb put together and rival some of the really big resorts over in Europe. If, at any time during the day, the weather clears, instead of the Snow Cat picking you up, the helicopter picks you up, and you continue Heli-Skiing. The transition is quite seamless; we've actually had days where we started Heli-Skiing, we got pushed into going Cat Skiing for a few runs and then the weather cleared, and we went back into the helicopters and finished the day in the helicopter.
When is the best time to experience the deepest snow at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing?
Our first track season begins basically as the season opens. It goes from early December through till mid to late January. That's when you can expect the snow to be the deepest. We get big storms and big snowfalls in December and January. We spend a great deal of time skiing in the trees, probably 65% of the time skiing in the trees and the other 35% up in the Alpine when the days allow us to do that. But it's the early season when we get the deepest snowpack. That's when you've got the snow coming over your head - it's when it's the deepest.
What is peak season like for heli-skiing at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing?
Peak season with us is actually named because everyone thinks that that's the peak season. It's from mid-January through till probably mid-March - that's when everyone wants to travel. My personal favorite is still the early season because of the deep snow but peak season has got a good mixture of weather and stable days. So we still get lots of snow, we get to spend probably about 50% of the time skiing in the trees and about 50% of the time skiing in the Alpine, in the sun. Just depends on what you like.
What is skiing like during the "Endless Days" season at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing?
So endless days is our term for skiing later in the season - it's mid-March through till mid to late April. That's when the days get really long, we tend to get more stable weather and we spend a lot more time up high in the Alpine. Some big Glacier runs, big Alpine runs and we still ski in the trees when the light gets flat or when a storm comes in. But we'll probably spend about 35% of the time in the trees and about 65% of the time up in the high glaciers at that time.
How many runs do you usually ski in a day at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing?
Once you're out in the mountains, we'll typically do 8 to 12 runs in a day - is a typical day. We have lunch out in the mountains, usually trying to pick a nice spot where everyone's got a view and can enjoy a little break from skiing. We ski for the rest of the afternoon. The end of the day for us is when people start getting tired (or when it's approaching 5:00 PM) and we know it’s time to get back to the lodge.
What is the après-ski experience like at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing?
Apres Ski at Northern Escape starts out when the helicopter first brings you back to the lodge. You'll go to the bootroom - there's a dedicated room for you to dry all your clothes and store all your gear. You're met at the door with a hot face cloth to wipe your face off and wipe the sunscreen and everything off and clean up a little bit. The bar is open so once you get your boots off it's usually off to the bar. The bar has a variety of drinks and beers and whatever else you need. There's a big spread of food put out for you - everything from Sliders to Nachos to Chicken Wings to Pizza. There's a wide variety of food served and so that's put out for you. The music's playing, there's videos on the TV of people skiing—Some people put their own videos up from the day on the TV and it's a nice Apres Ski party, basically.
What is dinner like at Northern Escape Heli-Skiing?
So dinner at Northern Escape is relaxed. People finish their Apers Ski. They go back to the room, and they get changed, but it's not a dress-up type of situation at all. It's quite a casual atmosphere. Show up - 7:00 PM is when dinner is served. Appetizers come out, and there is a variety of really nice appetizers, such as ahi tuna, salads, and soups. The main course comes out, and it's everything from Tenderloin to Rack of Lamb; there's a great variety of meals served. The desserts are quite exquisite—The chefs go all out on the desserts. And, of course, there's a great wine list and after-meal coffees for anything you'd like that way.
Why do guests choose Northern Escape Heli-Skiing over other heli-skiing destinations?
Over the years, I've spent time speaking with our guests and getting a good understanding of why they've chosen Northern Escape Heli-skiing, and the same themes come up all the time. One of the biggest ones is our Snow Cat backup and it keeps you skiing in pretty much all weather, pretty much every day. One of the ones that surprised me was actually the ease of access and how important that was to our guests, and it seems to have gotten more important over time. But it saves you comparatively to skiing in another area - typically saves you a day, sometimes two days on your total vacation because of our easy access. Lastly, our terrain is spectacular; we've got some amazing tree skiing and huge Alpine runs, and that seems to bring the guests back a lot as well.
To learn more about Northern Escape’s heliskiing, see our Guide to Heli-Skiing in BC. To plan your ultimate ski vacation, call us Toll-free at 1-888-209-6516, contact us online, or visit our booking page; we can’t wait to meet you in the mountains!