Summary: Pros: Outstanding gourmet dinners, great view of Valdez Harbor from the bar
Cons: Seems to fly less often than their competitors, powder cat backup
Bottom Line: If you want to heli ski the Chugach, I would recommend looking at another vendor
Full Review: Valdez Heli Camps is one of a number of heli ski tour operators in the Chugach Range near Valdez Alaska. The Chugach range is very steep and considered the most challenging skiing in the world.
We purchased a 4-day all-inclusive package that included 50,000 vertical feet of skiing, lodging, all meals, and airport transfers for a trip in mid April.
VHC puts their clients up at the Best Western in Valdez. The hotel was clean and fairly new, however, there was no pool or hot tub at the hotel. There is a hot tub at base camp, about a 25-minute drive from Valdez. The hotel bar/restaurant is operated by VHC. The dinners included were absolutely fantastic and included halibut, filet minion, roast duck, and king crab. On arrival, we met a few other guests at dinner that raved about how wonderful the past three days of heli skiing had been under sunny blue skies. After dinner, we had a few drinks in the bar while looking out the large windows at a spectacular view of Valdez Harbor.
Helicopter skiing is a very weather dependent sport. The fresh snow that makes backcountry skiing so incredible also brings poor visibility and no-fly days for the helicopter. One thing that makes VHC unique is that they have their own powder cats, guaranteeing that you will ski each day of your trip. Initially, the cat backup seemed like a good idea. Who wants to sit around and play cards when you could be skiing?
Unfortunately for us, the weather changed right after we arrived. The next two days were cloudy to partly cloudy. Those days were followed by 2 snowy days that dumped almost 4 feet total of snow, followed by 2 cloudy to party cloudy days.
To my great disappointment, we skied in the powder cats for 4 days straight. One day was the best day of powder skiing in my life, however, it wasn’t from a helicopter, and I paid a lot of money and traveled a great distance to go heli skiing. We extended our trip 2 days (6 days total), but still did not fly at all. Each day, I asked our guides why we weren’t in the helicopter. They told me the weather wasn’t good enough to fly. I’m not a weatherman, but I do have some ski pictures with nothing but blue sky in the background.
Valdez is a very small town, and we had the chance to talk with guests using other heli operators. Over the six days we were there, Valdez Heli Guides and H-2-O flew two days each. Valdez Rendezvous flew 5 of 6 days. While we had some stormy no-fly weather, we also had some partly cloudy weather. VHC left us on the ground in the powder cats, while other companies flew their clients. I had the opportunity to ask a guide from Valdez Heli Guides about the mediocre weather; he told me that they looked for “blue holes” in the weather and flew to them as needed to get their clients in the air and skiing. I now believe that the powder cats are a disadvantage vs. an advantage. VHC claims that they fly the helicopter out to the cats to get you flying as soon as weather allows; I did not experience a cat-to-helicopter transition during my 6 days there.
VHC’s base camp is closer to Valdez (and the ocean) than the other operators, so perhaps the weather a little further away at other operator’s base camps was better.
We received a $350 credit because we did not fly at all during our 4 day package that cost almost $5,000. This was a credit with VHC, not a cash refund. It was little consolation to me.
From what I observed, it appears VHC only flies when conditions are near perfect, while their competitors safely fly their clients in less than ideal conditions.
In summary, I would not recommend this vendor.
Similar Products Used: Whistler Heliski, BC. CMH BC
Would you like to Comment? Join OutdoorReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.
Reviewed by: Jim Hanley, DoubleDiamond, from Mequon, WI USA
Summary: May your skiing experience be matched by your awe of the scenery! Visit photos at http://www.jim.hanley.com/VDZ/VDZ.htm Nothing matches the Chugach Mountain experience. VHC - Matt White and crew provide the most impressive ski/ride offered in the great Alaskan range.
Would you like to Comment? Join OutdoorReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.
1 of 5
5 of 5
4 of 5
