Heli skiing in Iceland - the only way to round off the season!

“Wow weeeee...... the girls really did shock those Nicelandic boys ..... James it was a blast .... like going on a wild west ski holiday ..... thank u so much..... how can we ever go anywhere else and Heli Ski ..... we got to shoot bottles with real guns, fly like we were in james bond movie, ski the best spring snow on 45 degrees while looking at the sea , eat great food , hang in hot tubs , ski when it should be dark and feel like we are 25 yr old Brazilian models when we are the wrong side of 40 !!! Pretty sure I didn't leave anything out ... Sal x”

We just rounded off the season with an awesome few days heliskiing in Iceland. In general heli skiing is a pretty male dominated pastime but this week was refreshingly different. We were graced with the presence of an all-girl team from England who were not only strong skiers but served up endless entertainment day and night. Never a dull moment! Unfortunately most of the photos are highly confidential but I will say that there were bikinis and plenty of alcohol involved. The rest I will leave up to your imagination.

The week started off with warm temps and high winds but thanks to some outstanding flying from Jon we got out after lunch the first two days and skied until 6pm knocking off sixteen runs over the two days in the northern coastal region of the Troll Peninsula. Having a good pilot in Iceland is essential and I can safely say that Jon is one of the very best I have had the privilege to fly with. The peaks on the coast are a little lower than those in the interior but with sunshine, beautiful corn snow and mind-blowing views of the vast north Atlantic, this is some pretty special heli skiing.

On our second night the temperature dropped and there was even a light dusting of snow at ridge line. The snow was starting to get a bit sloppy so the drop in temperature was just what we needed to set us up for the next few days. On day three we headed for the higher peaks in the interior. With a couple of hard crusty runs under our belts the snow soon transformed into and we skied run after run in perfect creamy corn snow. Big smiles all-round. The girls stepped it up a bit today skiing several steep couloirs on the ‘Virgin Wall’. This is the kind of heli skiing that most places don’t offer and something that makes heli skiing in Iceland unique. With a pretty much bomb-proof maritime snowpack the only real limit to steepness is your stomach for it.

As usual we were spoilt to death in the kitchen by Sonia – wild goose, local lamb from the farmer down the road, salt cod, minke whale sushi…She was a little slack on Eurovision song contest night as this is practically a national holiday in Iceland but despite a few mid-course excursions to the TV the usual feast did make it to the table. Afterwards we spent the evening drinking heavily and hurling ridicule at the Eurovision spectacle.

Day four was again bright sunshine and despite a few heavy heads and tired legs we took off at around 10am from the lodge all agreeing that this was about optimal timing for the snow to transform back to perfect corn. We headed straight for the interior and once again were spoilt by some near-perfect spring conditions.

The Troll peninsula is now firmly on the map as THE place to heli ski in late spring and early summer and is a destination that shouldn’t be missed if you are serious about your skiing, food and fun. Dates and prices for next year should be released by early July. You will need to be quick.

James