“Heli-skiing is like sex: when it’s good it’s great, but even when it’s bad it is still pretty damn nice,” our Canadian guide Dale mischievously jokes before I climb into the helicopter. The adrenaline races through my body as our very experienced pilot Ben clamps on his headphones, the propellers begin to rotate faster and formidable mountains loom in the distance. The pilot flies straight to a ridge, skillfully swings the tail around and lands on a minuscule plateau marked by a stick with orange tape, which turns out to be the landing zone (“LZ”). Kneeling, we watch the helicopter as the snow whips up and stings our faces. Slowly, the humming sound fades and a deafening silence fills the air. Caroline, Len and I are standing on the top of a mountain, hundreds of kilometers away from the nearest ski lift or town. Everywhere we look, we see endless untouched powder fields and breathtaking mountains.

The wait is finally over and I am about to experience the descent that I have been dreaming of all summer. In my mind I’ve already skied it hundreds of times. The powder curls over me like a giant wave and at every turn the snow explodes in my face. Gasping for air, I ski at full throttle through the ghost trees. With aching legs and a massive grin I ski through the ghost trees, trees covered with encrusted snow resembling spooky silhouettes, towards our “taxi”. The sky’s the limit and each run is more spectacular than the last; I’m completely high on life and can’t get enough of this heavenly playground. We can barely grasp the amount of powder that we get to ski throughout the day, our stoke is sky high. I try very hard to remember each run I ski, but it is impossible, my brain simply can’t process all these face shots. According to Dale we have skied twelve runs, consisting of 9200 vertical meters of powder, no wonder I can feel my legs burning!

A very exclusive, high-end ski lodge is nestled in the complete wilderness upon the Quesnel Lake surrounded by a pebble beach – quite a memorable setting for a heli-ski lodge! The Silver Tip Lodge is so remote; it is only accessible per helicopter on a 45-minute flight from Williams Lake, making your stay a grand backcountry adventure. In the winter of 2019 this private heli-ski operation opened its doors for private groups up to 16 guests. With an average snowfall of 14 meters per year and 118 different runs you will be skiing fresh lines every run. The lodge is located in the Caribou range, the most northerly mountain sub-range of BC and this northerly location ensures great snow quality throughout the whole season. Heli-skiing in the Caribous is a proven formula for success as the first two heli-ski operations carefully choose this range too already in the 1970’s. According to Dale, our Canadian guide who has been guiding in this area for over 10 years, an additional benefit is that the tree runs are naturally well spaced, no glading has been done and every time he proudly speaks about his “backyard” of nearly 1500 square meters, his face lights up. He ensures us that Silvertip has some of the best heli-skiing terrain in the world. And who knew it was possible to climb into your private helicopter just meters away from the breakfast table? Life just doesn’t get any better than at the Silvertip Lodge!