GENERAL INFORMATION:
Meeting times & places: We meet on most mornings at 8:30am at the Christy Sports Ski Shop in the Inn at Lost Creek in the Mountain Village. [MAP]
Check In: Guests must check in the day before their ski reservation by 5pm. (970)728.8377 If a guest fails to check in, they risk losing their seat and full deposit.
Food: Lunch, snacks, water and energy-food are provided in the field. The heliski day is followed by aprËs ski buffet at the Inn at Lost Creek's fireside bar.
Ski and Snowboard rental: Extra-fat powder skis are included with each full day heliskiing package. Fat-skis are highly recommended for your enjoyment and safety. Snowboarders should provide their own powder-board (wide and long) with the bindings set as far back as possible. If you have any questions about equipment, please ask our office staff.
Safety: Risk is involved in all of life's activities. Our guests are asked to sign a release of liability form before the trip.
Additional Runs:
A full helicopter is needed for any skier to ski additional vertical. The charge is $95- per run/per person (i.e. over your tour's run guarantee).
Age: There is no set age limit. We are concerned with competent skiing, fitness and endurance. Age limit is decided on an individual basis.
Weather: Weather is the determining factor in the heli-skiing experience. Weather is unpredictable and we can not control it. Your heliski day may start late or end early due to changing mountain weather. We recommend that you set aside several days that you are available to heliski. Then in the event of inclement weather, we will carry your reservations forward with priority. Please see our Policies page for an explanation of refunds.
Minimums: Each Helitrax ski group consists of four skiers and one guide. This is dictated by the seating configuration of the aircraft. As a safety consideration, Helitrax Single Day Heli-skiing requires a two group (two guide) minimum. For this reason, advanced reservations will be confirmed when the eight skiers or two-load minimum has been met. A single helicopter is capable of supporting up to four loads per day. Helitrax reserves the right to adjust the maximum number of groups per day as conditions dictate.
Rates: Described on the packages pages.
Cancellation Policies: Please read the Policies page for all package cancellation information.
Date Changes and Postponements: A per seat rebooking fee will be charged for scheduling changes made by a guest. Fees and a time schedule are listed on the Policies page.
WHAT IS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO HELI SKI?
Telluride Helitrax's terrain extends across 350 square miles and four counties in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. We have many options for finding good riding conditions even weeks after the last snowstorm. Conditions in the backcountry are usually far better than those at the Telluride Ski Area. The best time to go heliskiing is literally from any point after our early January opening thru the month of April. Powder skiing in our mountains begins in early November, but Helitrax waits to conditions are at their best in early January before we begin heliski operations. If powder skiing conditions are poor, we do not take guests heliskiing.
If guests seek to ski powder on steeper terrain and couloirs, the best time to visit the San Juans is during the month of April due to lower avalanche hazard associated with the early spring.
WHO CAN HELI-SKI?
Adventurous intermediate skiers and snowbaorders can heliski. Many of our guests are amazed that they actually heliskied. Contrary to popular belief, heliskiing is not an extreme sport; it is about skiing deep, light, untracked powder. Excellent powder skiing conditions are found from December through the month of April. If you are an adventurous intermediate to advanced rider, you can ride with Helitrax.
Ask yourself: Can ski groomed black diamond slopes while making turns in the fall-line? Are in good shape and health? Can you make it through a blue square bump trail? If you answered yes to these questions, you should do just fine with Helitrax. Helitrax has an inventory of state of the art reverse camber/ reverse side-cut skis that literally flatten the learning curve for first time powder skiers.
Still not sure? Sign up with a First-Time Powder Tour and be grouped with other first timers and a guide trained in powder skiing instruction.
Please Note we have plenty of advanced terrain for those who seek it. Contact us with any questions.
HOW DIFFICULT IS THE SKIING?
Helitrax heli-skis in untracked powder snow that has fallen on an uncompacted base. This condition rarely, if ever, exists at a ski resort. It is not necessarily how rapidly we ski or the steepness of the terrain that provides the thrill of heliskiing; rather the experience of skiing untracked snow and the magnificent setting inspire our guests.
There is ample time to ski the six runs that make up a typical day and guests enjoy a leisurely, but steady, pace. Guides set a pace that is safe and comfortable for even the slowest member of the group. Extra-fat skis, used by guides and guests, make backcountry powder conditions accessible to any advanced intermediate skier. Easy to control, fat skis are the standard in the heliskiing industry, and we highly recommend their use.
WHAT IS THE DAY'S SCHEDULE?
Unless we arrange otherwise, Helitrax meets guests at the Inn at Lost Creek in Telluride's Mountain Village at 8:30 am. You can stay at the Inn, or if staying in Telluride, reach the Mountain Village and the Inn via the free gondola.
In the morning a safety orientation with the guides is followed by a helicopter safety orientation with the pilot. Then we ski the trail to the helipad. Snacks, energy-food and water are provided throughout the day. After a full day of heliskiing, the group enjoys an aprËs-ski buffet at the Inn at Lost Creek's outside deck or the fireside bar.
We typically return to the Inn between 3 and 4 p.m. in the afternoon. However, this time is approximate, so guests are discouraged from heliskiing on days when they must make scheduled appointments such as airline connections.
HOW LONG ARE THE RUNS
Helitrax ski runs have an average vertical drop of 2,000 feet. The minimum run is 1,100 feet and the maximum is 3,200 feet. It takes the average group 45 minutes to complete a round trip (top to top). Bring your camera as we enjoy taking pictures along the way.
WHAT ABOUT SAFETY?
Helitrax's first priorities are your safety and enjoyment. The terrain we ski does avalanche during periods of instability. Our safety efforts include watching the weather, testing the snowpack with explosives and sharing information with fellow avalanche professionals in the region. This work is known as avalanche forecasting. Although avalanche forecasting reduces the risk of being caught in an avalanche, the risk of avalanches can never be completely eliminated. Helitrax has an earned an excellent safety record over the course of 24 years of skiing Colorado's San Juan Mountains.
THE GUIDES AND SAFETY:
Nearly twenty-five years ago our guides founded Telluride Helitrax. Today their years of dedication, terrain specific knowledge, and training ensure our guests a safe and remarkable helicopter skiing experience. 
Telluride Helitrax's guides spend each day of the heli-ski season observing, recording, and sharing snow, weather, and avalanche observations from within their alpine workplace. They are trained professionals who hold avalanche, guiding, and explosive certifications, instruct avalanche courses, and above all are cautious in their decision making. In twenty-four years of powder skiing in the San Juans, Helitrax has never had a guest so much as caught in an avalanche. Trust our guides to lead you safely through some of North America's most breathtaking alpine powder skiing terrain.
EXPERT SKIERS
The San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado offer an abundance of steep terrain. The numerous couloirs are the most striking feature of this range and are a natural draw for expert skiers and boarders. The limiting factor concerning terrain choices is snow stability. Avalanche hazard varies throughout the ski season, but is usually highest after significant new snow-storms and wind events. Steep skiing is usually done weeks after large snowfalls when avalanche hazard has lowered. Our number one priority is guest safety. Guides will not ski terrain they are uncomfortable with.
Excellent powder skiing on challenging terrain is found December through April in the San Juan Mountains. For skiers who seek to ski steeper double black diamond type terrain, the best time to visit the San Juans is in late March and during the month of April. The general skiing public does not realize that the month of April offers the most stable snowpack of each season. It is our guides favorite time to ski because it allows access to the highest peaks.
Please note that from any point after our opening in early January through our closing in April that the skiing can be exceptional. Helitrax onlys skis when powder skiing conditions are good. The late March and April time period is mentioned above because it generally allows for steeper skiing.
If you have a group of at least four skiers/riders, we can plan for a "Custom Day" that allows us to access terrain to meet your group’s desires and ability level while maintaining Helitrax's high safety standards.
If you would like to plan a "Custom Day" with fit expert skiers or purchase additional runs in with a Single-Day package, 7 to 10 runs can be obtained when conditions are optimal equaling between 12,000 and 18,000 vertical feet. The final run of the day can be a 4,300 vertical feet descent through Bear Creek ending on the streets of Telluride, it will take nearly 2 hours to descend. This is not “Alaska terrain”, but it is challenging and diverse.
WHERE DOES HELITRAX SKI?
Helitrax operates under United States Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management permits covering over 300 square miles of southwest Colorado's San Juan Mountains. Our territory extends from Telluride south to the Purgatory Ski Area, east to Silverton, Colorado, and north to Ouray, Colorado. Most of our skiing occurs above treeline. Top landing zones exceed 13,500 feet, giving us the highest heli-ski terrain of any North America-based heli-ski operation. >> terrain slideshow
WHAT SHOULD I BRING?
Guests should dress as if they were skiing for day at the ski resort; however, all personal items should be kept to a minimum. Sunscreen, goggles, warm hat and a small camera are essential. Video cameras are allowed, but the guides may restrict their use if safety or logistical concerns warrant. Please do not bring backpacks as weight and space on the helicopter is limited. Throughout the day guides will provide snacks, water and energy food.
WHAT IS HELI-SKIING?
Heli-skiing is a subset of the alpine sport and is often viewed with a mixture of reverence, mysticism, and fear. Despite its reputation, heli-skiing is not about incredibly steep terrain, extreme skiing, or cliff jumping. It's about snow, and plenty of it. It's about powder so deep there's no point in measuring it, and skiing in it for a week at a time without coming across another set of tracks. It's about perfect conditions on every descent, day after day, and never having to wait in line.
It's about freedom, maximum satisfaction and the best skiing on this planet. For a skier or a snowboarder, there is no feeling comparable to the sensation of carving down a fantastic slope in pristine, untouched powder snow. Ski touring also lets one experience this sensation, but the problem is, many hours of hard work climbing to the top of a mountain are usually followed by only one run with powder filled pleasures in a day - too little of the sensations longed for in the busy lives of hard working professionals. The gondola, T-Bar, tram, and chairlift alleviate only part of the problem. The work of climbing becomes non-existent, but chairlifts bring multitudes of people to the same trails. Thus one run of untracked powder is still the standard with lift served skiing, but only if you are assertive enough to be in the lift line prior to its opening.
The solution to this problem was found more than thirty-five years ago, when the Austrian mountain guide Hans Gmoser started offering helicopter skiing in the Bugaboo Range in British Columbia, Canada. Heli-Skiing became more and more popular in Canada, Europe, the USA and in New Zealand. Because of the small size of certain European countries and the crowded mountain areas there, Heli-Skiing in Europe has almost disappeared and Europeans flock in large numbers to North America every winter to enjoy the best skiing in the world.
Powder skiing is the best skiing you will ever enjoy, it is the thrill of a skiing lifetime. To be above the earth, floating on frozen ice crystals, is as close to flying as a terrestrial being can ever hope to be.
