Haines, AK

I edited my TR from 08' in this thread, post #17:

http://www.epicski.com/forum/thread/94144/swift-silent-deep-dvd-trip-report-contest-the-jackson-hole-air-force

We were there in mid-March.  My understanding is that this is about when the real season begins to kick in for this operation.  Prior to that it is mostly guide school & recon going on.  After that it is lots of film crews.  The season runs till the end of April.  The group I went with go this same week every year to avoid competition with the film crews & the influx of regular clients.  Heli-skiing in AK is always a crapshoot as far as weather & down days go.  I think the chances of drier snow are better in March than April.  If I ever get the chance to go again, I would stay for 2 weeks minimum.

I couldn't really say.  We skied with Alaska heli-skiing.  They were the first of 2 operators.  Seaba I think, is the other one.  I believe they offer a cat-skiing option for down days & are more ski package oriented.  AK heli is very bare bones, but incredible.

Not much tree skiing in my short experience.  Not all 50 degree spines either, but you better bring your A-game.  The terrain you ski will depend on the group you are skiing with and the conditions.

Eaglecrest ski area in Juneau is the only one I know of.  You cannot drive from Juneau to Haines.  Access is either by ferry or air.

I have heli-skied a in a few other places on day trips as well as a week at Wiegle's in British Columbia.  Top notch operation, accomodations, food etc.  Great terrain, weather & snow.  Very upscale & more expensive.  Much more of a vacation experience than AK.  With that said I would jump at the chance to do either again, but Haines was more of what I am looking for.

JF

How good are you and how much heli experience?  How many people, how much time and how much money to you want to spend?

I haven't skied Haines.  It looks amazing!  But it is extremely remote and your relying on the operation to get you to the goods.  Same with Points North in Cordova, though they have a little ski hill in town.  The advantage to both of these is there is little to no competition for the runs. 

Flying into Anchorage and driving to Girdwood is much easier.  CPG has cat skiing back up for down days.   Aleyeska is a kick ass little hill and you can tour up Hatcher pass. 

If it goes blue, you can drive to Thompson pass in 4-5 hours. 

February has short days and more weather issues, but not nearly as many people.  March is high season.  April can be good with really long days, but sometimes the snowpack can be shot by then.