Julie's Heli-skiing Adventure

“Was I really going to get on a helicopter and be dropped off in the backcountry of the Andes?” I thought as I woke Friday morning at Valle Nevado. The sun was out and the snow looked great, but a fear was eating at the pit of my stomach. We weren’t 100% sure this was going to be a reality so I put it out of my mind and began working on booking a trip for my new friends I had met the night before. Somewhere during the morning I had lost the boys and went on a mission to find them. I went back to my room where to my surprise the “Heli-skiing Waiver” was sitting on my pillow… my stomach dropped like a ton of bricks!! I ran out of the room to find the guys, which they were geared up and ready to go in the ski storage room. It is now when all of my fears came to a head and the tears began to flow. Tench and Brian comforted me and said I was under no obligation to go, but how could I return to the US and tell my friends that I passed on the chance to heli-ski in the Andes…fat chance! I went to the room and tried to calm myself while gearing up and packing for our return to Santiago.

I arrived in the heli-ski office to realize that everyone was looking out for me and they had picked a run that was a bit easier to help ease my nerves. Miguel, Andrew and Claudio, our incredible guide, assured me that if I could make it down a black run at Beaver Creek I would have no problem with this run. So that was that and I was on my way to the most amazing adventure of my life.

We took off on the 500 yard walk to the heliport where Claudio began with the avalanche safety training (yes my stomach was still in knots at this point and only getting worse), but assured us that Chile was not known for major avalanches. This made me feel better considering I was having thoughts of my body being swept away by a wall of snow. Next we had to get weighed with gear in hand to make sure of seating and fuel for the helicopter. Then out of nowhere the helicopter rose over the ridge and landed at the heliport. I’m still thinking in my head, “Am I really going to do this?” We went over all of the safety instruction for the helicopter, took the obligatory pictures, loaded up and we were off. What a feeling it was to lift off and head off over the ridge into the Andes. The views were beautiful and breathtaking. When we landed on top of the mountain it was in the matter of a minute that Claudio had us out of the copter, gear unloaded and off went the chopper. My first thought, “Well I guess there is no turning back now!” I took a deep breath and looked around at the most wonderful scenery this gal from KY has ever seen. We took some pics and started to gear up.

Claudio called me over to the easier of the two drop in points. Jumping a cornice to get down was not my idea of fun, so I scooted over on my butt until I felt comfortable. After a bit of coaxing I finally made my first turn, into my second turn on my heelside (oh yeah I forgot to mention that not only was I the only gal on this adventure I was the only snowboarder) and then a double back flip fall. It wasn’t the most graceful entrance, but it knocked the fear out of me and I was good to go. I made it down to the first stopping point, caught my breath and watched the boys drop in from a much steeper point. From here it was smooth sailing. The powder was soft in most spots, crunchy in a few spots, but overall the best terrain we had ridden the entire trip. With Claudio leading us to the best lines we made it down the 6000 ft. vertical run in just over an hour in seven stages. It was really relaxing and we all went at our own pace. There was no pressure, just having fun enjoying the scenery. When we finally reached the last leg the snow was getting heavy and wet, which made for some hard turns, but still fun! My legs were killing me at this point and I was glad to see the pickup spot. We all celebrated the success of the day, took some more pictures and waited for our flying blue chariot to arrive. As he came over the ridge my excitement started to boil over. I wasn’t sure if the riding or the helicopter ride was the more thrilling part of this adventure. Once again Claudio loaded the gear and directed us into the copter. The pilot lifted off and took us up over the lines we just came down. He hovered above to let us see the magnitude of the line we just took 6,000 ft down. ..crazy! We headed back to the resort where to my surprise we were dropped off in the middle of the resort, able to ride back to the hotel to end this brilliant day and head back to Santiago.

In the end I am so happy I made the choice to conquer my fear and join the guys on this trip. I know I would have kicked myself in the ass had I not gone. I also feel like this gave me the boost of confidence needed to take me to the next level of riding. My board is stored for the rest of the summer, but my head is looking forward to next season already…wanting to push myself farther.