Ski Canada this winter: heli. Our list of tops.

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By one estimate, 90% of the world’s heli-skiing takes place in British Columbia, the birthplace of the sport. Hans Gmoser, Austrian émigré and mountaineer, founded Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH), which in 1965 became the world’s first heli-skiing operation. He then created Bugaboo Lodge, and now the company operates 12 heli-ski areas and lodges, serving more than 7,000 heli-skiiers each year.

Canadian heli-skiing owes much to the early efforts of European immigrants, including Peter Schlunegger, a fourth-generation Swiss mountain guide, who established Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing 30 years ago near Revelstoke.

Mike Wiegele (another Austrian immigrant to Canada; hmm, there’s a trend here…), found his own piece of heli-ski heaven in Blue River, BC, accessing the snow-laden Monashee and Cariboo mountain ranges. Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing offers consistent access (with an over-95% fly rate) to literally a thousand peaks, in an area almost 100 times the size of Whistler Blackcomb.

That being said, Whister Heli-Skiing (which will be operational during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games) drops clients into 175,000 ha (432,000 ac) outside of the resort’s boundaries—enough country that first descents still lie waiting to be run.

Further up the coast, Bella Coola Heli Sports holds the world’s single largest heli-ski tenure, covering over 10,700 sq km (4,131 sq mi)—roughly the same area as the Swiss Alps, with coastal fjords and one of British Columbia’s highest peaks—Mt. Waddington—forming part of the landscape in this vast wilderness area.

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