SNOW SCENE: Heli-skiing with CMH Purcell is what powder dreams made of | Only Sports And Health

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Midway down the mountain, I started laughing.

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There was nothing all that funny, really. It’s just that sometimes you find yourself in a place that’s so inexhaustibly beautiful and doing something so undeniably fun that you’re completely overcome by the emotion of it all.

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You just sort of can’t believe that any experience could be as incredible as what you’re doing right there and right then in that very moment.

And as I turned my skis through turn after turn of deep powder while the sun beat down on my face from its far-off perch above the Purcell mountains, the only tool I had for letting out that emotion was a deep, guttural laugh.

Welcome to a day of heli-skiing with CMH Purcell.

Taking off from Golden, B.C., just a few short hours west of Calgary, the heli-skiing operation offers an otherworldly backcountry experience that drops skiers and riders off in the midst of 2,000 square km of terrain with over 250 runs to explore.

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It’s big, it’s wild — in every sense of the word — and in my case, three days with CMH Purcell added up to, unequivocally, the best weekend of skiing of my life.

But what exactly did it look like? How does it work?

I had the same questions beforehand, so let’s set the scene a little and then shift to a Q&A format.

Our mid-March heli-skiing trip saw a group of 16 skiers and riders divided into two groups.

The first had Olympians and guys and gals you might see in professional videos later this year.

The second was more of an assorted group. Skiers and riders with powder experience, but maybe not athletes who Red Bull is going to be rushing out to sponsor.

I was proudly in the second group. I’m a skier who goes after the hardest stuff he can find at a resort, but nobody’s looking at me and saying, ‘Look at that guy’s sexy technique’ when I’m barrelling down the mountain.

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I’ll admit, too, that I was a little nervous beforehand. We’re talking about unloading from a helicopter and skiing in the backcountry, so that’s probably only natural for any first-timer.

Fortunately, CMH Purcell takes safety seriously.

Prior to flying out of CMH’s lodge in Golden for the first time, the group spent a few hours reviewing avalanche protocols, tree well safety, how to get in and out of a helicopter when you’re on top of a mountain … there was a lot, but again, this stuff is really, really important. Respect it, and it’s a dream come true, but you’ve got to respect it.

With our transponders and radios on and our safety packs strapped to our backs, it was up, up and away.

And look, I could spill thousands of words on what an affirming, thrilling, inspiring experience going heli-skiing with CMH Purcell truly was.

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But for the sake of actually communicating pertinent information and not repeating over and over again how cool it all was — it really was so sick, in case I haven’t adequately articulated that — it’s probably best if I just answer a few questions directly.

So here’s a couple things to know about CMH Purcell:

1. This trip obviously goes deep into the B.C. backcountry, but where is it located?

If you’re coming from Calgary, all you’ve got to do is get to Golden. That’s a little over two hours west, and the CMH Purcell Day Lodge is pretty much right there — seriously, it’s not hard to get to.

Most trips with CMH Purcell are going to take off and return from the lodge. The safety training takes place there and there’s usually a little après experience at the end of the day, too.

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The helicopters give skiers and riders access to nearly half a million acres of backcountry in both the Purcell and Selkirk mountain ranges, with an incredible mix of big alpine glaciers and open bowls that lead into some unbelievable tree skiing.

2. How long is the trip?

CMH is the biggest heli-skiing company in the world, CMH Purcell is the only option for skiers and riders who want to do one-day trips.

You can, of course, add more days, but if you were doing a trip on the Powder Highway and wanted to add a day of heli-skiing on to really make it memorable, you could absolutely do that. The folks at CMH described it as a “quick heli-hit” and I like that, so I’m repeating it here.

There’s no cap on how much you ski or ride during a day, but CMH guarantees at least 3,000 metres (9,843 feet) per day. I can personally attest to that being more than enough to leave you absolutely exhausted — in the best possible way — by the time the helicopter takes you back to Golden.

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3. How much does it cost?

It’s $2,115 per person, per day.

Everyone is divided up into two groups, with eight people and two guides in every group. For individuals or smaller groups, you’ll be skiing or riding with new friends — shout-out to Group 2, who ruled. The staff at CMH Purcell make every effort to match groups of guests with similar skiing and riding abilities.

If you’ve got a group of eight you can book to be together, too, and if you’ve got an IKON Pass — which gets you a lot of skiing at a bunch of Alberta and B.C. resorts — you can get $200 off every day of your trip, up to $1,400.

4. How experienced do you have to be?

You should have some powder experience, that’s for sure.

There’s a minimum level of skiing or riding that’s required to do a trip at CMH Purcell and it serves as a great introduction to heli-skiing for people like me.

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The terrain also supports what they call a “fast-paced, hard-charging option,” though.

But one way or another, there’s a tonne of powder, so you should know how to handle that, whether it’s through trees or on long runs in the wide-open alpine.

5.  Anything else I need to know?

I mean, if you’re a skier or rider, heli-skiing in B.C. is probably on your bucket list.

And it should be.

The experience is every bit as awesome as I hoped it would be, and because CMH Purcell offers a one-day option, it’s not the unattainable dream some people think it is.

It is a dream come true, though.

daustin@postmedia.com

www.twitter.com/DannyAustin_9

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