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GUIDING
COURSES
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HELISKIING The Northern Scandinavia offers an incredible free skiing environment and a truly unique landscape. A white desert stretches out as far as you can see, broken only by the sharp lines of steep rock and mountain faces. On bright days you can see clearly out to the Arctic Ocean from the highest peaks and in mid-winter, the flaming Northern Lights splash colour across the night-time skies. It is an awe-inspiring place. Don’t think, therefore, that heli-skiing is just for the professionals. So long as you have a reasonable level of on-piste skiing skills, we will be able to find slopes for you to enjoy. And, the beauty of heli-skiing is that you will be accessing superb mountain locations in a fast and easy way. Hence, all of your strength can go into your descents. At the same time, for the more experienced off-piste skiers who may be used to the far greater elevation differentials of the C. European Alps, don’t worry about not finding sufficient challenge. There are slopes for all abilities. However, no matter how remarkable the skiing, what you are most likely to take away with you is the memory of one of the most unique landscapes on earth. During a typical heli-ski day, we have the use of the helicopter for 4 – 6 hours. Within that time, we tend to use about 1 - 1½ hour of flying time. Depending on the location, this means that we get 5 – 10 lifts and therefore ski something like 3000 - 5000m of vertical descent. We start each day with easy runs so that the guide has an opportunity to really gauge the levels within the group. We then select the most appropriate runs, based on snow conditions and group aspirations, for the remainder of the day. We offer heli-skiing only by request since we tailor-make each package to suit the wishes of the client. Having said that, however, it is worth noting that the helicopter we typically use can carry the pilot, guide and four skiers, so it is most economical to ski as a group of four - although other group sizes are obviously possible. The ski season in this part of Lapland is long and guaranteed. Last winter, for instance, the heli-ski season started in January and we completed our last runs with clients in June. The snow depth passes the 1m mark at the end of February, and there is fresh powder as late as mid-May. EquipmentWhen heli-skiing you are welcome to your own snowboarding, down-hill or ski-mountaineering equipment. If you have a choice of skis, it is wise to take the widest ones that you have. However, please note that we sometimes need to ascend by ski and for this you will need either skins – and, maybe, binding adapters – or snowshoes. Telescopic poles also make the ascent easier. When we head out onto the glaciers we also pack glacier equipment - crampons, ice axes, harnesses, ice screws and ropes. All specialist equipment, including snow-safety gear, is included in the price of the skiing days. Since it is always wise to protect yourself against impact falls, we recommend the use of helmets and back-armour for skiers and snowboarders, as well as additional knee protection for telemark skiers. You can hire any additional protective equipment you need from us. Corporate Group Options We are used to running heli-ski programmes for international corporate groups. When we have large groups we often incorporate snow mobile rides to and from the day’s skiing area into the programme so as to maximise flying time in the mountains themselves. We can also include evening products such as cultural evenings, management training, sessions, team-work sessions, etc, upon request. One of our regular guides has worked a lot in this arena and, as well as having been a world-class athlete, ran one of GE’s European businesses for a number of years. Hence, we are confident that our management training package can challenge and stimulate any group.
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