Alaska Heli Skiing HAINES, ALASKAHeli/Cat Operation Resort
(Are you this resort?)
Owner/operator Sean “Dog” Brownell invites you to join him on a sensational heliskiing adventure in the Chilkat Mountain Range. With over 20 years of heliskiing throughout the entire state of AK, Sean Dog recognizes the Haines area to be the most incredible place for heliskiing and has made his home here, allowing skiiers and snowboarders access to the best terrain in the world. Come ski with Sean Dog and his professional guides and see why Alaska Heliskiing is legendary in its field.
The terrain around Haines is exceptional for expert skiers, but you really have to be an expert (e.g., comfortable skiing everywhere at Jackson Hole). The guides and team at the lodge in Haines are tremendous folks, who are highly experienced and help make the whole experience fun. The weather is unpredictable given the proximity to the ocean (more down days probably than some places that are further from the ocean like being up valley in Valdez), but when you do get out, the scenery, snow and epic terrain will dazzle you. If you want to dial-up the pucker factor, the guides are more than willing. Generally, the snowpack is pretty solid given the maritime climate so you can ski as steep a line as you can muster. It is a newer area for heli skiing in AK so there is some sense of exploring and bit more of a sense of adventure. The town is small but has decent restaurants and some fun, funky bars. The rooms at the lodge are pretty modest, but the eating area and bar work well (spent some quality time at that bar). For a pure skiing experience, I have had none better (have heli skied various spots in Canada, New Zealand and most places in the States).
Dislikes
Haines is a bit hard to get to since you need to catch either a ferry or puddle jumper plane from Juneau, which is not easy to get to itself. Weather can be an issue getting in and/or out of both Juneau and Haines as well. There is a cat option if you have a down heli day, but the cat is very old and the terrain not very special. We did it once and then passed on other down days. In retrospect, I would not go as early as we did (second week in March) as we were the first guys to ski the terrain that winter. It is never a good feeling being the lab rat. The first day was fairly dangerous as a result, since the guides were sorting out the snow pack on the fly. We did experience one surprising slide with one injury, which is obviously not great. I would still give the guide a pass given the circumstances, and the fact that AK is simply a materially more dangerous back country place to ski vs. most places outside of AK. You have to go up there with your eyes open. The end of March/early April is ideal timing in terms of quality of snow, more clear weather and much better read on the snow pack, though timing as to snowfall and clear days to fly is highly unpredictable. If you board, you can go in later April and not be too bothered if the snow gets heavy. All in all, I would recommend Haines highly for excellent skiers who want to get after it.
You must be a Site Member to participate in the comments. You can join today! Membership is free!
General Comments/Likes
The terrain around Haines is exceptional for expert skiers, but you really have to be an expert (e.g., comfortable skiing everywhere at Jackson Hole). The guides and team at the lodge in Haines are tremendous folks, who are highly experienced and help make the whole experience fun. The weather is unpredictable given the proximity to the ocean (more down days probably than some places that are further from the ocean like being up valley in Valdez), but when you do get out, the scenery, snow and epic terrain will dazzle you. If you want to dial-up the pucker factor, the guides are more than willing. Generally, the snowpack is pretty solid given the maritime climate so you can ski as steep a line as you can muster. It is a newer area for heli skiing in AK so there is some sense of exploring and bit more of a sense of adventure. The town is small but has decent restaurants and some fun, funky bars. The rooms at the lodge are pretty modest, but the eating area and bar work well (spent some quality time at that bar). For a pure skiing experience, I have had none better (have heli skied various spots in Canada, New Zealand and most places in the States).
Dislikes
Haines is a bit hard to get to since you need to catch either a ferry or puddle jumper plane from Juneau, which is not easy to get to itself. Weather can be an issue getting in and/or out of both Juneau and Haines as well. There is a cat option if you have a down heli day, but the cat is very old and the terrain not very special. We did it once and then passed on other down days. In retrospect, I would not go as early as we did (second week in March) as we were the first guys to ski the terrain that winter. It is never a good feeling being the lab rat. The first day was fairly dangerous as a result, since the guides were sorting out the snow pack on the fly. We did experience one surprising slide with one injury, which is obviously not great. I would still give the guide a pass given the circumstances, and the fact that AK is simply a materially more dangerous back country place to ski vs. most places outside of AK. You have to go up there with your eyes open. The end of March/early April is ideal timing in terms of quality of snow, more clear weather and much better read on the snow pack, though timing as to snowfall and clear days to fly is highly unpredictable. If you board, you can go in later April and not be too bothered if the snow gets heavy. All in all, I would recommend Haines highly for excellent skiers who want to get after it.
You can join today! Membership is free!