News - Bella Coola

Come check out Bella Coola Heli Sports, British Columbia's newest and most exciting heli-skiing destination.

Whistler based personalities Peter Swede Mattsson, Christian Begin, and Beat Steiner invite you to come to our mountain wilderness where big mountain riding (Alaska style) and tree skiing runs are all part of the mix.

This is your chance to be among the first to come and ski almost 200,000 hectares of pristine mountain terrain. You will be pioneering ski and snowboard descents, and participating in the excitement of exploration.

We have been hosting film groups for the past three years, now it's your chance to ski and ride these awesome lines. We are very excited to be able to offer this terrain to a select few.

Bella Coola's advantages include: a huge annual snow fall, a safer snowpack, the longest vertical runs in North America, and tons of challenging terrain. This combination allows us to offer steeper more aggressive skiing for those capable and interested. Add short flying times to the mix and this could be the best ski week of your life.

We send out our apologies for getting you this information at such a late date, but we have only just cleared the last hurdles in a competitive tenure application process conducted by our government. Right now we are creating a web site, brochure and video that will all be available in due course, but we wanted to get this information to you as early as possible.

Our website is bellacoolahelisports.com and we hope to have a rough version of it up and running next week. We will post a collection of articles that have been written about Bella Coola in recent ski and snowboard magazines, and a short promo video. You can also check out Bella Coola in the new Match Stick film and the new Teton Gravity Research film. Bella Coola Heli Sports will only be operating a limited number of weeks this coming winter, so book early as space is limited.

Your Helicopter & Pilot
The helicopter we are flying is an A-Star B2. This is the best, most reliable machine available and allows us to offer heli-skiing to smaller, more intimate groups. You will be flying with your guide and four skiers, and there will only be two loads sharing the helicopter to ensure that there will be virtually no waiting times between runs. The pilots are top quality and have many years of mountain flying experience.

Your Guides
Your guides are fully certified mountain ski guides with many years of experience working in British Columbia's Coast Mountains. These guys are keen, ready to rip it up, and will push you to the edge of your comfort zone. Nevertheless, safety will be paramount.

Your Accommodation
Accommodation is in newly constructed cabins on the grounds of the historic Tweedsmuir Lodge. Each cabin has a private bathroom and shower, a main bedroom and a loft. Located on 50 acres of land within Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, the Lodge provides an unparalleled wilderness setting with a relaxing, private ambience. Here you will enjoy stunning views of mountains and glaciers, towering 8000 vertical feet above the valley floor. Guests will also appreciate the Tweedsmuir Lodge's amenities, including a huge dining room/living room with fireplace, sports bar with pool table and games, satellite TV, a large outdoor hot tub, a media room with computer, fax and phone service, and a fitness room. Best of all, in the morning the helicopter picks you up on the lawn outside your door and after a long day of skiing delivers you straight back to your cabin and the hot tub.

How To Get There
Bella Coola is located a one hour's flight north of Vancouver, on British Columbia's mid coast. Your flights to and from Bella Coola are via Vancouver International Airport. You will need to arrive in Vancouver in time to catch a Saturday 9am flight to Bella Coola from the South terminal (a 5 minute shuttle ride from the main terminal). Bella Coola Heli Sports staff will meet you at the Bella Coola airport for a 30 minute drive to the lodge. You will arrive back in Vancouver the following Saturday at around 3pm.

Other Activities
Tweedsmuir Lodge is located on the valley bottom (300 feet above sea level) and thus has access to numerous other activities such as:
- world-class river fishing at your front door
- river float trips with wild life viewing
- hiking and mountain biking
- a thriving Native Arts Culture
- visits to Bella Coola town site for shopping - boat trips for ocean fishing and sightseeing on Bella Coola's stunning fjords - natural hot springs situated right on the beach - rock and ice climbing
- snowmobiling

Package Options
We will be running ski weeks from February 1st until March 29th.

In this our first year of operation we plan to offer primarily a semi private heli-skiing experience. This means we will be limiting the helicopter to two groups of four skiers/riders plus a guide for each load, and the helicopter time itself is billed on an hourly basis. Your package price includes an initial 14 hours of flying time. The advantages are that there will rarely be waiting time between runs and there is greater flexibility for guests to design their own heli-skiing experience. If you want to maximize your vertical or you want to explore the full extent of our terrain, the motto is "it's your vacation, you decide." There are six days of skiing/riding with an option for a half-day of skiing on the seventh day.

If we receive enough interest, we will attempt to organize and run a week for individuals who are not part of a group. During this week we would have three groups of four skiers/riders share the helicopter and guarantee skiers/riders a minimum of 100,000 vertical feet of skiing (30,500 meters).

Pricing
The price for a semi private week (group of eight) is CDN$82,800 (approx. US$53,000) or CDN$10350.00 per person (approx. US$6,600). For helicopter time above and beyond the 14 hours there will be an additional charge of CDN$1900 (approx. US$1200). Please note that our government obliges us to add an additional 3.5% tax on all expenses for non-Canadian visitors and 7% for Canadians. As well as the 14 hours of flying time, your package includes flights to and from Bella Coola, seven nights accommodation and three meals a day.

The price during the individuals week is CDN$8,260 per person (approx. US$5300), plus 3.5% tax for non-Canadians and 7% tax for Canadians. Your package includes flights to and from Bella Coola, seven nights accommodation and three meals a day. Extra skiing/riding beyond 100,000 vertical feet (30,500 meters) will be billed out at CDN$80 per person per 3000 vertical feet (915 meters).

Liability
By registering for a Bella Coola Heli Sports package you acknowledge the risks of heli skiing in mountainous terrain during winter weather conditions. You acknowledge the fact that even a highly qualified ski mountain-guide is not infallible and that, therefore, his duty will only consist in limiting the risk to a minimum. Each participant will be required to sign a RELEASE OF LIABILITY, WAIVER OF CLAIMS ASSUMPTION OF RISKS AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT before being allowed to ski with us. A sample of this waiver is posted on our website. All claims - irrespective of the nationality of the participants - shall be governed in all respects by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Province of British Columbia.