The Backgrounder Series – A Glimpse Into Last Frontier Heliskiing

The Backgrounder Series is a series of short films showcasing what Last Frontier Heliskiing is all about. We’ve been slowly putting each of the 6 episodes out all season and we thought it might be cool to have them all in one place with a little intro for each. So here they are, in order.

Episode 1. Location: Location is the foundation of any heliski operation and we chose our location with care and a driving passion for all things skiing and riding. Northern British Columbia is like an undiscovered country. It’s vast, wild and beautiful and is also one of the snowiest places on earth.

Episode 2. Lodging: While the skiing comes first, where you sleep, rest and recoup for the next day of pow laps comes a close second. Last Frontier Heliskiing operates from two distinct locations, Bell 2 Lodge and Ripley Creek. Both offer their own unique charm and character. Bell 2 is our purpose built heliskiing facility and is smack dab in the middle of the our heliski area. Ripley Creek is at the Southern end of our heliski area in the town of Stewart, BC. A bit of a frontier town, Stewart sits at the end of one of the longest fjords in North America, right on the border of Southeast Alaska. Both offer fantastic terrain and a down to earth, relaxed vibe.

Episode 3. Terrain: Our terrain is massive, spanning some 10,100 square kilometres in the Coast and Skeena Mountains of Northern British Columbia. Our terrain varies greatly and offers viertually limitless options when it comes to skiing and riding. Big, high alpine glacier runs, old growth forest skiing and everything in between. But it’s that variance in terrain coupled with the breadth of our heliski area that offers our guests true versatility. We have lots of landing zones at different elevations and even when the weather is marginal, we can often get into zones for some great storm skiing. Snow not so good close by? No worries, we can stage further out and head to different corners of our tenure.

Episode 4. Day in the Life: Your average heliski day looks like this. Both our locations are unique and things work a little differently between Bell 2 and Ripley Creek in terms of how your day will roll out. Here’s a good view of how things flow on a typical day as a guest at Last Frontier Heliskiing.

Episode 5. Safety: Staying safe in the mountains goes hand in hand with our passion for snow. It’s our number one priority and is not just about keeping you safe, but keeping us safe as well. We take it seriously and pride ourselves, from our guides and pilots to our service staff, to work safe and play safe. Every guest is given both the proper safety equipment and instruction on how to use it. We also spend lots of time with our guests on helicopter safety. Staying safe comes before everything.

Episode 6. The Team: Without our team and their passion, dedication and love for the mountains, Last Frontier Heliskiing simply wouldn’t exist. Here are their stories.