On a day of heli-skiing you will ski a lot of different runs and experience different snow conditions from top to bottom. The ability to ski all the conditions really well separates the experts from advanced level skiers.
An operation that I previously worked at before would have a videographer that would film the skiing.
One of the guides had a trademark gesture of playing his ski poles like a violin whenever he was on camera. Probably one of the best skier guides I’ve seen, he would make all the conditions look so easy, even while theatrically playing the violin.
This would be highlighted when the customers followed and were all at sea when conditions became tricky. So how did the guide make it look so easy?
Immaculate technique would have a lot to do with it. As an Austrian, their ski culture runs deep and he would have been drilled on how to ski well as soon as he could walk.
The mileage of skiing different snow conditions in the backcountry would also have been a factor. He had the skills through sheer experience to make the quick technique adjustments to suit the conditions.
He would also have had some knowledge of the snow conditions up ahead. Knowing how different snow conditions look on the surface can be key. It would start from looking from the helicopter on the flight up and then continue scanning ahead the whole run down.
You may not know how different snow conditions look on the surface. But one suggestion would be to look at how the skiers in front of you are skiing. This will give you an indication for any snow condition changes. Get to know what all the conditions are and develop techniques to handle them well.
A good guide will often stop if there is an abrupt condition change. Especially if there is a chance that a customer might tweak a knee in tricky conditions.
About the writer
Chuck started out as a skier on the small island of Tasmania riding rope tows with nut crackers. A dream to ski in distant lands took him to Japan and Canada in pursuit of the powder dream. The best place he knew how to ski more powder was to work in the heli-skiing industry. After 4 years of working on the side of heli-ski operation management, he moved in to heli-ski guiding in Canada and New Zealand, where he worked for 9 seasons. He operates Hokkaido Powder Guides on the northern island of Hokkaido during the northern hemisphere winter. He is a qualified ski guide with the New Zealand Mountain Guide Association.
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