Chicks ruled today, there was a female guide, a female pilot, and me…a female guest.
The quote above is from Heather, who recently told me as she walked in from what she explained was an “outrageously great ski day of fresh pow!”.
Heather is a rare breed of woman in an almost completely male dominated sport of helicopter skiing. It seems that many women make their way out to the resorts and cat-skiing but when it comes to signing up for helicopter skiing, there are but a select few that will choose to join in on a heli adventure. Heather figures that it has something to do with fears of large mountains or helicopters. In her words “the thought of backcountry skiing to some women may appear daunting, but you really do limit the risks involved when you have a great guide.”
We cannot agree more with her about having a great guide. The guide is there to help you through the entire process of entering and exiting the helicopter and throughout the entire big mountain experience. When asked candidly about what she thinks about few women coming out to go heli-skiing, Heather responded: “Living in Vail Colorado, there are plenty of go0d, strong, capable women skiers that could ski comfortably on this terrain. I mean, you see a lot of them skiing at resorts, but it surprises me that you don’t see more coming out heli skiing. They should, they don’t know what they are missing!”
Heather went on to describe her first helicopter skiing experience. “On my first heli ski experience there was an extra space that needed filling in the helicopter and I jumped at the opportunity. I was hooked, before the trip was over I had already put a deposit down for the next year! That was 4 years ago and I have been coming ever since.”
Heather has no doubts when choosing our services at Great Canadian Heli-Skiing year after year. She knows that she can depend on our guides to take her through some great terrain that will push her limits, but they will keep her safe in the process. She trusts our pilots with the safety of the helicopters and their judgement of flying conditions. She also trusts our kitchen to prepare great food so that she has plenty of energy for all of the great skiing that she puts in daily. I guess, when it comes down to it… Maybe our entire industry needs to appeal to that need for trust and safety while giving outlandishly great ski experiences through backcountry terrain.
