Heliskiing: Brief Guide and Frequently Asked Questions

What’è heliskiing?

As you might guess from the word, heliskiing è the combination of off-piste descents and the’use of the’helicopter as a means of ascent. There are two elements that make it unique: flying and off-piste.

To ascend to the summit, a helicopter loads you from the landing station (on a typical hike there are up to 4 people per helicopter, plus the mountain guide and pilot) and drops you off at a summit, where you unload your descents and unload your skis to begin your descent. The view you enjoy during the flight and when you're at the summit è something unique; you won't soon forget it. The helicopter ascent takes about 20 minutes, and varies depending on the height of the peak you reach.

Skiers descend from the helicopter during a heli-skiing excursion in Sestriere

The second element is the descents, completely off-piste. The peaks reached by helicopter are well away from the lifts, and the runs are all in fresh snow. A descent can take about 30-40 minutes, depending on the elevation gain and the length and difficulty of the route. 

For a top experience, taking up half a day or more, we recommend at least a couple of flights (after that, you will be as tired as if you had skied 6 hours!). 3 and 4 flights are recommended for those who è a trained skier.

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What level è required to practice heli-skiing?

Apparently it mayè seem like an extreme sport and accessible only to very few people, lovers of risk and danger.

È partially true.  To practice heliskiing forò one does not have to be a super professional; good skiing skills and a fair amount of experience in off-piste descent are enough to practice it.

The hard part è off-piste skiing: all the descents you will do are well off the groomed trails, and you are the first to make your mark in the snow – fresh, and often quite high. By helicopter, you reach peaks that aren't covered by lifts, so there's no traffic and no slopes: it's you, your friends, and the mountains around you, white, snow-covered and untracked.

Depending on the level and weather conditions, the guide chooses the most suitable peaks and routes in the morning. Given the element of danger and uncertainty of snow (if you don't know where to go and go where the underlying snow layers are unstable, you risk creating avalanches), heliskiing is always practiced with a mountain guide.

When do you practice heli-skiing?

The heli-skiing season starts in December, after it has started snowing at altitude and there's plenty of fresh snow, but it gets really fiery in January, with ideal conditions for practicing it. Excellent conditions can be found until April-May (in places with very high mountains, such as Courmayeur Mont Blanc and the rest of the Aosta Valley, even in May there are good conditions for it). 

What are the best places to do heli-skiing in Italy?

We mention 3: Courmayeur, Livigno and Sestriere. 

Courmayeur

Heliskiing on the highest mountain in Europe is a unique experience. There are several peaks for landings, providing access to descents with drops of 1000-1600m (!).

Heliskiing in Courmayeur

Livigno

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Also in Livigno, heliskiing is going great: from December to May, together with official Mountain Guides. Heliskiing in Livigno è mostly practiced on the mountains on the Carosello 3000 side, with routes through deep snow that end in the middle of the woods. 

Heliskiing in Livigno

Sestriere

A little gem. In Sestriere by helicopter you can reach the best peaks between Italy and France. Here is a small teaser.

Heliskiing in Sestriere

È safe?

Quite (you have to already know how to ski, of course). Three things are essential for safety: a mountain guide, equipment, and careful consideration of weather and snow conditions.

Accompaniment-from-alpine-guide

During descents you è always accompanied by Alpine Guides who assess your level and choose routes accordingly, to ensure you have the best fun in the safest way possible. &Eegrave it is their job to take the necessary precautions such as checking the weather report, assessing avalanche danger and studying snowpack conditions; è sufficient but also absolutely necessary, in this respect, to follow their instructions.

Safety docking

È it is mandatory to have with you an ABS backpack (equipped with a balloon that, inflating in a few moments, significantly increases the odds of surviving an avalanche) containing an ARTVA (Avalanche Beacon) beacon, probe and shovel.

Weather-and-snow-conditions

A few days before departure, è it is important to have some contact with the Guide, who monitors the viability’of the experience according to the weather. The necessary safety equipment è usually provided by the operator, or it can be requested from the Guide again a few days before departure.