Luxury heli-snowboarding gains popularity

Luxury has changed, hopefully forever. No longer consumed with the proverbial over-bling and showing off, the realm of luxury now values the privilege of access and the freedom of time more than anything else. And so, heli-snowboarding in remote, uncharted terrain surges as the curator.

In the last few years, the seekers of true luxury in the snow sphere have started moving away from the big-name resorts, the overrun fancy hotel rooms and even the expect-to-find destinations - something else has come into play and that is entry to remote slopes that are just inaccessible to the average snow addict. Helicopters have made this desire more popular, and with a few exclusive destinations in the world, heli-snowboarding is making serious tracks.

Danielle Stynes, the managing director of SwisSKIsafari.com describes this in-the-back-of-beyond trend as the ultimate desire of snow connoisseurs who don't want "to see a crowded lift at all during their trip". One of her latest trips is aimed at these snow buffs: a private chalet in a small alpine village crowned by off-piste door to door snowboarding and, of course, heli-drops at the highest peaks of the mountains.

Although helicopters weren't part of the sport from its first official bellow in the 1960s, the idea of being able to take your fibreglass and polyethylene board to the top of the mountain where nobody else has access to simply by hopping on to a helicopter wasn't far fetched at all. The pioneers of heli-snowboarding, Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH), introduced a small helicopter to the mountains of western Canada and has over 50 years attracted the buffs of unblemished powder snow while building lodges and adding more sophisticated helicopters.

"As the founder, Hans Gmoser, had first pick of the best areas to ski in British Columbia, we now have over 3.1 million acres [1.3 million hectares] of skiable terrain - the largest in the world," says Jeremy Roche, CMH director of marketing and retail.

Even Richard Branson, Virgin's magic sovereign, spent a season at the CMH Valemount Lodge in the Columbia Mountains with family and friends. According to Branson's Virgin blog, the lot of them were "privileged to experience some of the most beautiful conditions we've ever skied in".

The exclusive-use lodge, a quick private plane jaunt from Calgary, is available to up to 10 guests and comes with private chefs, masseurs and the finest snow guides in the business. Days here are spent out on the slopes making fresh tracks, and evenings include private baths, yoga and stretching followed by exhausted sleep.

Across the ocean in Europe, heli-snowboarding is very different. Here, the high alpine terrain offers boarders descents that are long and varied leading to a more technical adventure. According to Stynes, the beauty of Europe is that "in a week you can find yourself crossing country borders, speaking different languages and eating different regional specialities, which makes for a more unique travel experience". Imagine visiting Swiss monasteries inhabited by monks or stopping for tea in a mountain refuge in the Italian Ferret Valley.

The virgin slopes, and mastering them, can take some rehearsing. Guides, with avalanche training provided and equipped with emergency tools, take boarders up in the metal bird that does its drop on the highest peak possible. Perched on a white beauty of a slope the helicopter releases boarders ready for action. With no tracks, the thrill of uncombed terrain is finally understood. The free spirit of snowboarding finds its way to the board and ultimately onto the whiteness below. Roland Brunner, a top pilot in the European Alps says, "The marvel is that at each drop-off point there are so many snowboarding options suitable to everyone, not just powder specialists."