Nestled in the Columbia Mountains on the western side of the Rocky Mountains in Canada, the 3 million acres of endless deep powder-covered terrain have given rise to a phenomenon: CMH Heli-Skiing. It surpasses the powder experiences of Japan’s Nagano and Hokkaido, Switzerland’s Zermatt and Verbier, New Zealand’s Wanaka, and Alaska, elevating your skiing sensory experience to unprecedented heights.
What determines your backcountry skiing experience?
In my view, the perfect backcountry skiing experience revolves around two main aspects: snow conditions and terrain. Snow conditions encompass snowfall and snow quality, while terrain includes slope, vertical drop, and diversity. Let’s delve into each element to understand the experience it brings to skiers.
Snowfall This is easily understood; enthusiasts of backcountry skiing always hope for heavy snowfall. Snowfall quantifies the amount of this “heavy snow.” Without sufficient snowfall, one cannot experience the exhilaration of gliding through powder. When powder is skied over and becomes compacted, it transforms into a groomed trail. Although fresh powder may fall after skiing, if it lacks depth, the ski base contacts the hard snow layer below, known as “bottom powder.”
Ski resorts in China generally have relatively small snowfall amounts. Despite occasional heavy snowfall during the year, skiers often find themselves on bottom powder. While Japan’s ski resorts boast significant snowfall, the terrain is small and crowded.
Snow Quality Compared to snowfall, understanding variations in snow quality requires experience in skiing across different regions. Phrases like “dry powder” are commonly heard, describing snow quality. Snow quality can be dry or wet, depending on the snow’s water content—drier snow has lower water content, while wetter snow has higher water content.
So, is dry or wet snow preferable? Dry snow is lighter in weight, resulting in a more nimble and floaty feel while skiing. Wet snow, on the other hand, is heavier, making skiing feel sticky and even unresponsive, lacking the pronounced floating sensation. Dry powder easily splashes into snow waves and creates “rooster tails,” making it the epitome of powder.
CMH exclusively operates in the Columbia Mountains, known as the powder highway, situated between the Coast Mountains and the Rocky Mountains in Canada. Here, there’s an ample guarantee of snowfall, and being away from coastal areas ensures drier snow quality. When CMH’s founder surveyed the terrain from a plane decades ago, he believed this region was the best for skiing globally.
Slope Powder snow, unlike machine-packed snow trails, generates more resistance, necessitating a certain slope to attain sufficient speed. The ideal slope for skiing powder lies between 28 to 40 degrees—too small a slope fails to generate speed, while too steep a slope risks avalanches. Only routes with adequate length and suitable slope provide an exhilarating experience.
The Alps, with their complex terrain and picturesque peaks, offer many thrilling steep slopes. However, inevitably, flat sections appear on routes, posing obstacles for skiers, especially snowboarders. Many large mountains in North America have bowl-shaped terrain, slightly steep at the top and gradually easing at the bottom, lacking rugged rocks but featuring very suitable slopes. In contrast, what we call “steamed bun mountains” are not ideal for powder skiing; an example is the Altai region in Xinjiang, China. In summary, for powder skiing, the terrain is better steep than flat.
Vertical Drop Many skiers around Beijing gradually migrate to Chongli because Beijing’s ski resorts have short trails, “a few turns, and you’re at the bottom.” Besides slope, what determines trail length is more crucial—vertical drop. To ski powder, steep slopes require greater vertical drops to prevent finishing the run too quickly.
Ski resorts in China generally have small vertical drops, with those around Beijing usually not exceeding 200 meters. Wanlong in Chongli has around 600 meters, and the domestically renowned Beidahu has just over 800 meters. In contrast, CMH’s Monashees boast tree-lined routes with over 1500 meters of vertical drop, acclaimed as the world’s best tree skiing.
Diversity In recent years, more and more skiers are no longer satisfied with making turns on groomed trails and are exploring wooded areas. Terrain with obstacles adds more joy to skiing, making the diversity of terrain an essential factor in skiing. Nature’s wonders offer us a myriad of terrain features, and within CMH’s 3 million acres of skiing terrain, there are expansive glaciers, sparse forests, cliffs, gullies, and coveted pillow lines that I yearn for. Each run is almost unique, providing endless freshness and excitement. Of course, richer terrain diversity requires stronger technical skills and skiing experience, which is what we strive to achieve.
When evaluating the world’s most famous skiing regions based on the above five elements, Japan has good snowfall, occasional dry snow in January and February, but the mountains are not large enough, lacking sufficient vertical drop and diverse terrain. Europe has many large mountains with leading vertical drops globally and diverse terrain, but snowfall is insufficient, and catching heavy snowfall is considered very fortunate. Some North American ski resorts boast excellent hardware conditions but slightly lag behind CMH in each aspect.
The Best Skiing Experience in the World
For my first CMH Heli-Skiing experience, I opted for Powder Intro, the entry-level package, with two guides per group—one leads, and one trails to ensure the pace is manageable and alleviate any psychological pressure. On more open routes, guides take photos and videos of each group member. Two evenings are dedicated to watching the footage, where guides point out individual issues and corrections.
The advantage of Powder Intro is having guides at the rear, maintaining a slower pace without psychological pressure. During my first heli-skiing in New Zealand, I joined xfox, Xiaonuan, and Xiaohu. As soon as the guide set off, they disappeared, and I kept falling in places where they couldn’t see me. It was a painful memory, and I strongly recommend first-time heli-skiing enthusiasts to choose Powder Intro to relax and savor the joy of powder without the pressure of keeping up.
Another benefit of Powder Intro is that the best skiing routes are reserved for newcomers. After watching our videos, Anakin and Laodou from the Signature group were envious, saying that we newbies had taken over the best areas, and no one was there to take videos and photos for them.
On the first afternoon of skiing, I fell and questioned life. I had never skied in powder so light and deep that I felt completely unskilled. In the past, the deepest powder I experienced was knee-deep, while here, it was practically waist-deep. Guides took many photos of us, some indistinguishable from professional shots. However, we were well aware of how we actually skied. Only with such heavy snowfall (155 cm in 7 days) and premium dry powder could you experience a face shot at every turn. Despite being exhausted every day, we couldn’t stop marveling at the experience.
We skied four full days and three half-days in Bugaboos, totaling 76,250 feet of vertical drop. On two afternoons, helicopter flights were canceled due to weather conditions. Guides informed us that we had skied less than 2% of the entire base area’s routes. The following week and subsequent visitors could ski in areas we hadn’t touched, ensuring everyone could ski on untouched virgin snow. This is the primary reason why we are so obsessed with heli-skiing—perfect snow conditions, terrain, and service combine to create the perfect experience. Just as CMH’s slogan says, “This is the best skiing experience in the world.”
Higher Equipment Requirements
Although I consider myself an equipment expert, I encountered some problems during this CMH heli-skiing trip. While the skiing experience was excellent, it also demanded high requirements for equipment.
Snowboard and Boots Snowboards are the easiest to address since you don’t need to bring your own. CMH provides various widths and lengths of ATOMIC backcountry snowboards (including poles) and applies different waxes depending on temperature and snow conditions. The board bases are exceptionally smooth and undoubtedly better than your own. Most importantly, if you lose or damage the board, you don’t have to pay for it! Therefore, almost no one brings their own board when skiing CMH. As for boots, wear your regular ones; there’s no need for anything special.
Clothing Quick-drying base layers are crucial, and I recommend the Phase series from Arc’teryx. Skiing generates rapid heat, especially after a fall, and high breathability is essential for base layers. They need to quickly release moisture; otherwise, wet clothes in sub-zero temperatures lead to a high risk of catching a cold.
Mid-layers should offer good breathability and some insulation, with different options depending on the temperature at different times.
Ski jackets must prioritize waterproof performance. Even if you manage not to fall, you’ll be “swimming” in powder, and a jacket with poor waterproofing will quickly become wet. Add low temperatures to the mix, and it’s easy to freeze. I highly recommend Arc’teryx’s Gore-Tex Pro fabric snow jackets, which are lighter and more efficient.
Accessories Gloves should also prioritize waterproofing; my gloves were soaked and useless on the first day. For safety reasons, I recommend wearing a helmet at all times, even though many foreigners just wear a woolen hat. Goggles should have photochromic lenses because visibility is poor when it’s snowing. Fogging is almost inevitable, especially when falling frequently, so it’s best to bring an extra pair of goggles and switch them out when one fogs up.