Greetings from Valdez Heli-Ski Guides!
Summer is upon us and although the snowline has crept up the mountains, our guides are still out there in them. Kirsten Kremer and Jed Workman are right in our backyard, mountain-guiding in the Alaska Range. Dylan Freed is attempting a first ski
descent of the Archangel Ridge on Alaska’s Mt. Foraker.
Doug Workman is skiing high peaks in the Tetons, including a guided ski descent of the Grand. Others
have accepted summer’s onset and are running rivers and climbing rock. Meanwhile
yours truly is anxiously awaiting our South American heli-ski adventures (learn more below) while planning another great season next spring at Valdez Heli-Ski Guides.
This year we had an incredibly successful season thanks to all of you who made the pilgrimage to Valdez. Despite uncertain economic times, we operated three helicopters with very strong bookings. About 60 percent of our guests were return clients and most new guests learned of us by word-of-mouth. Thanks for spreading the word!
The Chugach had its fair share of weather this season yet we still managed to ski 70 percent of our season. A special thanks to our pilots, Andy, Christian and Mike, for getting us to the top and bringing us home safely.
We guided 12 private ships this season, one of our specialties, and sustained VHSG’s pioneering spirit by pushing into new areas and skiing new runs on the outer edges of our circuits. We continue to take advantage of the tremendous size
and scope of the Chugach.
Strong clients and stable snow allowed us to ski steep runs throughout the season, including multiple descents of Meteorite, Pontoon and East Peak as well as our backyard classics: Dimond, the Elephant and the Cauliflowers.
Whether this year was your first or your fifth season with us, thanks again for coming. If you haven’t made it to Alaska yet, well, you’re not getting any younger. Perhaps it is time to put Valdez on the top of your to-do list.
Thirty-five weeks. . .until the 2010 heli-ski season in Valdez. Yes, we confess, we are counting down. Until then, we hope you have a great summer.
Scott Raynor
Owner/Lead Guide, Valdez Heli-Ski Guides
2010 Reservations
New dates and prices for 2010 have been posted! Check them out on our Packages and Rates page. Currently we are working on offering a daily breakfast buffet and a couple group dinners to each
week of the upcoming season. Many of you have requested this and we are trying to make it happen in 2010. We’ll keep you posted. And we are pleased to introduce two new group discounts:
Group-of-Four Discount. Each guest who books as a member of a group of four will get an automatic 10-percent discount. (The discount cannot be used with any prior credits.)
Group-of-Four Organizer Discount. A group organizer’s package price will be discounted 50 percent for every three new clients he/she books with VHSG as members of a group of four. (A new client is someone who has not skied with VHSG in the past five years.)
We hope these new discount offers will help reward those of you who promote VHSG so passionately to friends and family. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Heli-Ski Chile
Join us this summer
for some incredible heli-skiing in the magnificent Andes
Mountains of Chile! Valdez Heli-Ski Guides owner
and lead guide Scott Raynor will be guiding his second season at Andes
Heliski
.
Skiing the Andes is fantastic: Excellent powder conditions plus consistent
spring-like temperatures and an abundance of sunny skies.
Terrain is varied, from steep runs similar to Valdez to extremely
long bowls and glacier runs. And there’s plenty of it for both
advanced intermediates to expert skiers. Andes Heliski operates AStar
B3s and B4s flown by experienced heliski pilots. Packages include
all lodging, heliskiing, meals, as well as transport to/from Santiago.
The price is per person and based off a private-ship experience with
two groups of three guests. (Groups are kept small due to the altitude.)
Heli-skiing in South America is a rewarding cultural adventure that is highly recommended for any skier. Join Scott for one of three weeks in August (dates below, others available) and explore new runs and terrain on the Andean spine between Chile and Argentina. Please email Scott at sraynor@valdezheliskiguides.com for more info.
Dates Price
Aug 9-15 $8850
Aug 16-22 $8850
Aug 23-29 $8850
PO Box 3281
Valdez, AK 99686 USA