Heli skiing: powder by helicopter, from Iceland to the Andes

Heli skiing means a helicopter flies you to the top of the slope and lifts you back up after each run: one to four drops a day in Sestriere, seven days of heli skiing in the Kaçkar, a private helicopter for your group in Chile and in Nepal. Heli-assisted ski touring is the other approach: a morning drop opens up the terrain, then you carry on with skins, which is how our week in Iceland works. A 100% heli-skiing option can be requested there before booking, and private heliskiing, with the helicopter for your group alone, is also possible on request.

Because French law prohibits dropping off passengers by aircraft for leisure in the mountains, outside aerodromes and authorised sites (Article L. 363-1 of the Environment Code, which stems from the 1985 Mountain Law). French skiers therefore go heli skiing abroad, often close by: Sestriere, in Italy, is 20 km from the border.

The price of our heli skiing trips depends on your dates, the size of your group and the number of drops. It covers your guide and safety kit (avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe) and, depending on the trip, your hotel and meals. Heli ski touring in Iceland costs €7,500 per person for the week, excluding flights. Tell us when you are coming and how many of you there are, and we’ll reply within 24 hours.

In Sestriere, the first drop is included in the price of the day; you can add up to three more, at extra cost. In the Kaçkar, the trip includes 30,500 m of vertical, and you can ski more, at extra cost. In Iceland, one drop a day is included, and more can be added on request, depending on helicopter availability and the flight plan.

You need to be at ease off-piste and in deep snow: technical level 3/5 on our trips. The fitness level needed is 2/5 in Sestriere, where you walk for two hours at most, 3/5 in the Kaçkar, with seven heli-skiing days back to back, and 3/5 in Iceland, where heli ski touring adds a climb on skins each day. In Chile, we ask that you be a strong off-piste skier, comfortable in all snow conditions, and in Nepal, a strong, self-reliant off-piste skier. To check where you stand: your off-piste skiing level and your ski touring fitness level.

Like all off-piste skiing, heli skiing takes place in unpatrolled mountain terrain, with an avalanche risk, and the whole day is organised to reduce it. Every skier wears an avalanche airbag pack and carries a transceiver, shovel and probe, all provided by us. The guide reads the snowpack, chooses the slope and the pace, and the programme adapts each day to the snow and the weather, with the guide having the final word.

You still ski. In Sestriere, if the weather prevents flying, the guide offers a day of off-piste or freeride touring, and the helicopter share of the day’s price is refunded. In Iceland, heli ski touring keeps its advantage: with skins, we ski in almost all conditions, even when the helicopter stays on the ground.

It depends on the hemisphere. Our week in Iceland is planned for April 2027, in the low early-spring light of the Tröllaskagi peninsula. In Chile, heli skiing happens during the southern winter, in July and August, and we give you the dates of our trip on request. In Nepal, our heli-skiing weeks run in March and April 2027, Saturday to Saturday. In the Kaçkar, there are 14 departures, every Saturday from 9 January to 10 April 2027, each for nine days. For heliskiing holidays in Sestriere, you ski from January to April, on dates we set with you.