2 minute read
Wintertime Utopia
HELITRAX
Kane Scheidegger WINTERTIME UTOPIA
Local heli-skiing operator Helitrax opens up mystical backcountry, and goes green
BY MARTINIQUE DAVIS
The serrated horseshoe of high mountain peaks and ridges that wrap around Telluride and Mountain Village delivers a backdrop that is breathtaking to behold; yet the snow-cloaked, high-alpine climes may seem out of reach to the mere mortal skiers consigned to drooling over them from the towns below.
Visiting this wintertime utopia on skis is not, however, just a fairy tale. The experienced guides at Helitrax (with help from their trusty Eurocopter S350 B3e helicopter) hold the key to unlocking some of the best high-altitude ski terrain in North America.
Longtime area resident Joe Shults has been guiding for the Telluride-based Helitrax helicopter ski operation for over two decades. He says that the family-owned company’s small size and its highly experienced pool of veteran guides, combined with a nearly 40-year history providing helicopter skiing in the San Juans, allows Helitrax to tailor unforgettable ski adventures.
“This corner of the San Juans has a high concentration of really, really good skiing,” Shults says. “That, in combination with our solid terrain knowledge, allows us to tailor experiences for our guests that range from mellow powder runs to more aggressive, dramatic lines.”
Joe Shults
Telluride Helitrax Left to right: High above Telluride in Bridal Veil Basin, north of town in the upper Camp Bird Basin and catching some San Juans pow near the San Sophia Ridge.
Seemingly mystical slopes of billowy powder are very much within many skiers’ grasp, thanks also to Helitrax’s access to over 200 square miles of terrain stretching from Mount Sneffels and the Upper Camp Bird basin north of Telluride to Savage, Ingram and Bridal Veil basins to the east, and south to the backsides of the peaks surrounding Ophir, as well as Hope Lake and as far as Cascade Creek near the Purgatory Ski Resort. Advanced intermediate and better skiers and snowboarders are guided in groups of four people on an average of six runs totaling an approximate 10,000 to 14,000 vertical feet in a single-day excursion.
According to Shults, the helicopter skiing industry has become more accessible overall. “Through the knowledge of guides and helicopter pilots, plus the gear and skis being better, helicopter skiing as an industry has really been opened to a much larger audience in the last 10 or 15 years,” he says.
More savvy backcountry skiers can also find a partner in powder-hunting through Helitrax’s other offerings, including heli-assisted guided backcountry ski tours and single-drop backcountry skiing. Skiers can fly into the backcountry, with a Helitrax guide, and access some of the harder-to-reach cirques, couloirs, and alpine basins around Telluride.
“The beauty is that we can get them up to where no one else is skiing that day — to 13,000, 13,500 feet — in about five minutes,” Shults says.
Helitrax has also made strides moving the company in greener directions by committing to offsetting their carbon output for all operations for the coming winter season through purchases of carbon credits. The company is also working to create its own carbon offset program through Helitrax owner Todd Herrick’s Gunnison River Farms near Delta, where 6,000 trees have already been planted.
