Heli-skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing or snowboarding reached by helicopter, instead of a ski lift. In the late 1950s, helicopters were used in Alaska and Europe to access remote terrain. In 1965 Hans Gmoser commercialized the activity in Canada by combining lodging, transport and guiding.[1] In Switzerland there are an estimated 15,000 heliskiing flights each year, to 42 landing sites. In 2010 Switzerland's major environmental groups, including the Worldwide Fund for Nature, handed a petition with over 15,000 signatures to the Swiss government, demanding a ban on heliskiing.[2] Heliskiing is banned in Germany and was banned in France in 1985.[3] Austria allows two landing sites.[citation needed] In Turkey, heliskiing is done on the Kaçkar Mountains.[4]
Safety
One of the biggest safety concerns while heliskiing is avalanche. There are several techniques that increase safety in wild terrain, such as the usage of explosives to intentionally create an avalanche or the more common techniques of avoiding dangerous ski slopes. Another common risks are tree wells. [5] It is standard to use different types of safety equipment, such as avalanche transceivers, probes or shovels. More modern safety equipment is an avalanche airbag, which can be manually triggered when a skier gets into an avalanche. The mechanism in the backpack then inflates a big airbag around the skiers body, which prevents the skier to be buried by the snow.[6]
See also
References
- ^ Donahue, Topher (2008). Bugaboo dreams : a story of skiers, helicopters and mountains. Rocky Mountain Books. ISBN 9781771600224. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- ^ Foulkes, Imogen. "Pressure grows on Swiss heliskiing". BBC. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ^ "Is Heliskiing illegal in France?". www.heliski.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-03-13. [dead link]
- ^ "Adrenaline enthusiasts head to Turkiye's Kackar Mountains for heli-skiing fun". Anadolu Agency. 18 January 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ "Heli Skiing Safety | Heliski Risks". www.powderhounds.com. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- ^ "What equipment and kit do you need for heliskiing?". www.heliski.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
External links
Media related to Heliskiing at Wikimedia Commons
