Heliski & Cat-Ski Operator Database 2026/27

Canada — by a vast margin. British Columbia alone hosts roughly 80% of all commercially permitted heliski terrain on Earth. CMH Heli-Skiing's 3 million hectare tenure is larger than the entire skiable area of the Alps combined. Last Frontier Heliskiing (northern BC) holds the world's largest single-operator tenure at 1 million hectares. Alaska is the second-largest scene globally but operates on permitted USFS land rather than exclusive tenure — operators share zones with other parties.

Day-trip heli operations (Eagle Pass, Selkirk Tangiers, Silverton): €1,450–€1,950 per day for 3–4 runs and 10,000–13,000 vertical feet. Multi-day lodge packages with CMH, Mike Wiegele or Bella Coola: €13,200–€16,800 for a 5–7 day week including lodge, food, guide, helicopter time and 22,000+ ft daily vertical. Alpine single-drop heli (Switzerland, Italy): €480–€650 per drop per skier — typically combined with mountain-guide day rate of €500–€800.

Cat-skiing delivers roughly the same vertical (8,000–13,000 ft per day) at 40–60% of the heliski cost. Daily rates: cat €450–€1,050 vs heli €1,450–€2,400. Cat-skiing operates in flat-light and bad weather (helicopters can't fly), giving more reliable day count. Trade-off: slower uplift (one cat-load per run vs helicopter rotation), less vertical accessible per trip, and snowcat noise/diesel exposure. For first-time off-piste guests, cat-skiing is often the better introduction.

Canada (BC interior): mid-January through mid-March for deepest cold snow. Late season (April) gives stable snowpack and longer daylight but warmer temperatures. Alaska: late February through April — earlier is unstable, later loses snow at lower elevations. Alps (Switzerland, Italy): January through April. Southern Hemisphere (NZ, Argentina, Chile): July through September. Japan (Furano heli): mid-January through mid-February for peak J-powder.

France: completely banned since 1985 under the Loi Montagne — no commercial recreational heliskiing of any kind is permitted in France. French skiers cross to Italy (Aosta Valley) or Switzerland (Verbier, Zermatt) for heli access. Austria: highly restricted — heliskiing is only permitted at 2 designated zones in the Arlberg region (Mehlsack and Schneetälli, above Lech-Zürs), accessed via Wucher Helicopter. Most Austrian guides recommend Switzerland for heliski. Italy: legal but tightly regulated — most drops are in the Aosta Valley.