Heli-Skiing Ability Requirements Guide

Quick Summary: What Level Do You Need to Heli-Ski?

Minimum recommended level: Strong Intermediate → Advanced.

At a minimum, you should be a strong intermediate to advanced skier or snowboarder with confidence off groomed runs and the physical fitness to ski long descents in deep snow.

What is the minimum skiing or snowboarding ability required for heli-skiing?

You are generally ready for heli-skiing if you can confidently handle the following at a resort:

Black / Black Diamond Run Confidence

• You can ski / ride black diamonds (or European red/black piste equivalents) comfortably, in control, and without frequent stops.
• You can adjust speed and maintain stability even when the terrain gets steep or variable.

Variable Snow Conditions

A heli-skiing environment is not groomed. You should already be capable of skiing, knee-deep untracked powder, mixed powder, chopped-up snow, bad snow (heavy wet snow, crud, slush and moderate moguls - though we aim to avoid all of these, if you can cope with them comfortably, you'll be fine!

Continuous Speed & Flow

You should be able to ski run after run without excessive falling or stopping due to fatigue.

If you are only comfortable on groomed black runs, you should gain more off-piste experience before booking a heli-ski trip.

The Real Requirement: Off-Piste Skill & Backcountry Competence

Even if you ski black / double diamond runs at a resort, heli-skiing success depends on your comfort off-piste / in the backcountry. Below is a breakdown of the essential skills and why they matter:

• Powder Technique: Deep, untracked snow requires flotation, centered balance, and turn rhythm. Leaning back too far causes burn-out and loss of control.
• Tree Navigation: Many heli-ski zones (especially Canada) include gladed forests. You must make quick, accurate turns in tight spaces.
• Terrain Awareness: Backcountry runs include natural hazards: rolls, ravines, wind crust, abrupt pitch changes so you need to be able to react quickly.
• Technical Manoeuvres: You must be able to side-slip, traverse confidently, and perform kick turns on steeps — especially at landing zones.

How much powder experience do I need?

Because deep powder is the goal, you must have some prior experience of navigating it. Heli-skiing is not the place to learn how to ski powder. That said, many people choose heli-skiing precisely because powder conditions can be hard to find in resort skiing and so they have more limited experience than they would like. So, some experience of powder is important but as long as you are confident skiing fast and making turns in less than perfect off-piste/ ungroomed freeride conditions, you should be fine. Just be sure to chat to us about choosing the right programme.

How physically fit do I need to be to ski multiple days in a row?

While you don't need to be an Olympic athlete, you must have a good level of physical fitness and skiing endurance. A full day of heliskiing typically involves at least 8 runs (often in deep snow) with over 20,000 vertical feet (6,000 meters) of descent.

• Endurance: You need to be fit enough to execute repeated turns in deep snow for several hours a day, potentially for 5–7 consecutive days.
• Preparation: We recommend a dedicated training regime focused on leg strength, core stability, and cardio endurance in the months leading up to your trip. Being fit helps you control your skis, which is important for safety and injury prevention as well as your enjoyment.

Do ability / fitness requirements vary by destination and month?

While all heli-skiing requires advanced skills and reasonable fitness, some places and times are more suited to stronger (or less experienced) freeride skiers and snowboarders and different programmes are geared to different ability levels.

Skiing deep snow in British Columbia's trees in January or tackling Alaska's notorious spines will be more challenging than lower angle open bowls on bluebird days. We will be happy to advise you on where and when will suit you best.

How do you match skiers/snowboarders into groups based on ability and pace?

Group matching is critical to ensuring everyone has a safe and enjoyable experience at the right pace.

• Private programme: If your budget can stretch to a private programme, you have more control over the terrain and pace and remove the risk of being held back by others.
• Single load: Next best is a single load (where you gather your own group of friends of similar ability to fill a helicopter. Single loads are usually 4 or 9 people). You will still share a helicopter with at least one other group (for your own private helicopter, you need a "full private programme"), so where you ski still depends on others (both their ability and budget) to some extent, but you have more choice over the exact lines you ski and the speed.
• Shared Groups: For non-private trips, we match guests based on detailed information provided in your booking form, which covers your actual ability, speed, and fitness. Groups are typically limited to 4–5 guests per guide (depending on the destination/helicopter). A certain amount of luck is required for all groups to be perfectly matched, and in all cases....
• ...the speed of every group is determined by the slowest skier. This is a safety rule, as the group must stay together and operate as one unit. We aim to place you with others of similar ability to maximise your enjoyment and efficiency.

Can you provide instruction/coaching if I'm new to deep snow?

We recommend arranging a powder coaching session at a resort before going heli-skiing if you are unsure of your skills.

While your guides will offer tips and technique advice in the field, their primary role is safety and terrain management, not instruction. If you book a bespoke trip, we can often arrange for a dedicated instructor/coach to accompany the group.

What is a typical daily vertical descent, and how many runs can I expect?

This varies significantly by location and programme type and is weather-dependent, but here are the general expectations:

• Single day heli-skiing - single day programmes usually range from 1-6 runs and 1,000 to 4,500m of vertical descent
• Multi day heli-skiing - in a full day, you could expect to do 8 or more runs and over 7,000 vertical metres (and perhaps over 10,000m) in a day. This depends on conditions and the group's ability and willingness to keep skiing.
• Private programmes - the amount of skiing / snowboarding is highly variable - you set the pace and target terrain within the flying time. Huge days of over 15,000m are sometimes possible.

Ultimately, the number of runs is dictated by snow conditions, weather, daylight, and the collective stamina (and possibly budget) of your group. Safety always takes precedence over vertical metres.

The Golden Rule of Heli-Skiing

Be completely honest about your ability and fitness level.

Over-rating yourself can create safety issues and result in being asked to "sit out". Under-rating yourself could result in you being frustrated.

If we have a clear understanding of your ability and fitness level, we can give you good advice to find a heliski programme that you will enjoy and give you the highest chance of being in a well-matched group.