9 October 2008

The ultimate powder experience is offered by heli-skiing and is an experience nearly every skier or boarder hankers after.  Elemental Adventure are a high class heli-skiing operation based in Chamonix and London, offering incredible trips world-wide.  Check out their website on www.eaheliskiing.com.  We’ve skied and worked with James, the owner of EA ... 

As well as offering a wonderful service, James is often privy to interesting information, as he skis in areas of the world that have amazing snow, incredible potential, but are, as yet, under developed for the mass market.  Here are a few articles from the EA September newsletter…

“Sochi

Last season one of our clients was flying in the helicopter with the father of Russian tennis star, Maria Sharapova – a Sochi local. When asked what he thought about Sochi’s chances of getting the games, he replied with a knowing nod,  “don’t worry, it’s all taken care of.” Well, in true Russian style, apparently so…

On July the 4th it was announced that Sochi in Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympics, and that Krasnaya Poliana, the main ski resort in the area and base for EA heliski operation, will be the centre for the ski events.

Is this good news? Well, if you are a developer who stands to boost his bank balance, the answer is probably yes. If you are the likes of our good friends Andrei and Irena who have lived peacefully for years in this beautiful, untouched corner of the world, the answer is probably no.

The phenomenal terrain and snow conditions of the Caucasus will stay the same but, unquestionably, there will be more pressure on the mountains.

While the resort accessed skiing will probably improve in some respects, what does it mean for the heliskiing? It won’t happen over night but I think the equation is pretty simple: increase the number of people, decrease the quality of the experience…

Hopefully I am wrong but I would say that by 2014, Krasnaya Poliana will no longer be a great ‘destination heliski area’ but will transform into somewhere that’s  good for a resort holiday with a couple of runs in the helicopter thrown in – a bit like in the Alps or Whistler. The message from us is, if you are going to go, then do it sooner rather than later.

The good news is that there is still plenty of incredible terrain in The Caucasus that has yet to be accessed because it is just a little bit too far from Krasnaya Poliana. The most obvious new base is Lake Riza in Abkhazia, a small state of only 8,600km2 sandwiched between Russia to the north and Georgia to the south. Our French partners have run a couple of exploratory trips there but finding a  reliable, safe helicopter operator has proved elusive!

In the words of Marc Testut, “You cannot put European people in this helicopter – they will not like the way they look”. So for now we are holding tight, but if this does get off the ground, proving reliable and safe enough to offer on a regular basis, it will be some of the most incredible heliskiing anywhere…stay tuned."

And Elemental Adventure look to add more destinations to their program:

"Sweden

This May I travelled up to Sweden’s Arctic Circle to investigate the potential for heliskiing in the region.

Situated on the boarder of Norway and Sweden, almost 400km above the Arctic Circle and close to the resort of Riksgransen, is Abisko Mountain Lodge - Scandinavia’s only destination heliski lodge. Ocean views and skiing or riding under the midnight sun are just some of the highlights.

The season runs from March through until mid-June and from May onwards there are almost twenty four hours of daylight.”

So, there you go, an update on heli-skiing from the gurus…apart from Russia and Sweden, Elemental Adventure offer trips in the Himalayas, Andes, Alaska, Turkey, Canada, Greenland… Just think about it, let your mind dream a little - and then call Snow Business on 03 9761 7522!