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 Snow study pits are routinely dug by the first guide out,
while waiting for the second load. Often the findings con-
firm what we were expecting, based on previous pit data.
We plotsignificant pitson the standard Swiss style sea-
sonal wall chart, alongwith contributing factors, anda bot-
tom line of avalancheoccurrence.We'vefoundcolor useful
to portray temperatures, using the standard nordic ski wax
colors.LastseasonwestartedXeroxingeachmonth's
portion ofthe chart, and posting it at otherplaces in the
valley, where backcountry skiers congregate.Ourclients
have immediate access to the full season's chart.
Ski tests are often the responsibility of the second guide
out.He orshe usually has time to kick a little cornice,or
traverse out to a start zone off to the side, and still traverse
back in behind the clients'fall line route.
Route managementis theleadguide'sresponsibility,and
we hear about it,ifhe orshe thinks ourroute might risk
starting one down on another group.Skiing instructions
are specific as to who leads, who follows,whether we ski
as groups - orone at a time,how much distance between
skiers,etc..Typically one guide leads, while the second
sweeps the tail, providing assistance to slower skiers.One
guidemaywaitoutarun,todiganextrapitorsetup
another landing.
Thebuddysystemisstandardprocedure fordefense
against tree wells in particular,but alsotoguard against
lost skiers in the vast and complex terrain,typical of gla-
ciers and avalanchepath ski runs.
CLIENTS'FEELINGS
Ourability tosense clients'feelings is critical.This is a
continualchallenge, and perhaps the area ofourprofes-
sion's greatest need for improvement.
"My, what an exciting job you have!I'd love to heli-ski,
except that. I'm afraid I couldn't jump out of the helicop-
ter.""Shucks,I figure it's just acrap shoot.That'swhy
you give us thesebeacons,isn't it?" Or my favorite: "Nordic
helicopterskiingsoundswonderful,butwhathappens
when you come to a fence?"I started heli-ski guiding in
1983,afterabout 16 years as pro-patroller,ski instructor,
and snow ranger, and I'm still continuallyamazed at the
misconceptions ourclients have about the natural world
ofsnow.The DisneyficationoftheWestern mindisof
course at work here, but those of us that choose to get our
information from more reliable sources need to at least at-
tempt to keep up on popular culture.As revolting as it is,
it still is where mostof ourclients are coming from.The
SportsIllustratedarticleaboutthe CMHBayStreetava-
lanche incident comes to mind as an example of how en-
trenched these misconceptions are.As a forester,I come
upagainstthissameBambiSyndrometoanalarming
degree.Dealing with it requires patience and tact.You
can probably sense some of the natureof my attitude prob-
lem here.Contact with clients from otherheli-ski opera-
tionsindicatesthatI'mnottheonlyguidewiththis
challenge.
Anxiety management is a personal and complex affair.
Convincing clientsnotto do dangerousthings is mademore
difficult by the fact that they usually perceive heli-skiing
as a highly risky business,in the first place.They often
are people who enjoy doing dangerous things - adrenaline
junkies.Persuadingsuch clients to respect the more con-
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servative nature of most of theirfellow skiers,has proved
to be the best ploy with this sometimes disruptive minor-
ity.Small groups help a lot.There simply is more oppor-
tunity for contact with the guide.Hopefully the guide has
his,orher, own attitude problem under control.
ELITISM
Anythingperceivedtobeasexpensive asheli-skiingis
going tohave problemswith elitism.To pretend other-
wiseisaperhapscomfortingillusion,buttoquotethe
patronsaintoftheenvironmentalmovement-Aldo
Leopold:"seems to yield only danger in the long run".
A popular misconception among environmentalists, for
instance, is that heli-skiingis somehow at odds with nordic
skiing.Weread about demonstrations in Colorado, Utah,
and Canadaagainstheli-skiing, andmy European contacts
tell ofsimilardifficulties.Except forresistance to heli-
hiking,relayed to us by the U.S.Forest Service, we have
beenlargely spared thesedistractions intheNorthCas-
cades.We do not have any heli-hiking.Ouroperation
was,in fact, started by a local group of guides - who were
also nordic ski instructors.So an easy explanation of why
we do this elitist thing, is that " If you can't lick 'em,join
'em."
The truth, as usual, is more complex.Heli-skiing gives
its participants, and especially its guides, the opportunity
to see more terrain, up close, than is possible by any other
means.If heli-ski guides are better avalancheforecasters,
as Tremper suggested, then this is the reason.We simply
are privileged to have more exposure.Helicopters arealso
themostenvironmentallyfriendlymeanstobuildand
maintain backcountry bridges,huts,and trails.They're
very handy for rescue!If we make the effort to communi-
cate thisknowledge tootherbackcountryskiers,thepo-
tential forsafety education is the best we could hope for.
The role of avalanche paths, as fuel breaks, in efforts to
restore naturalfire ecology, is but one example of how our
airbornevantage could translate intobetterbackcountry
management.Nobodyelsesees,orskis,theforestfire
scars the way we do.Nobodyelse watches the snags go
down, the brush come up,andthe changesinanimal tracks,
the rate that our bottom landings grow in - and need to be
cleared out,orwhat happens totheforestwhennature
clears our bottom landings forus.Don't keep this kind of
knowledge out of circulation.Wehave a responsibility to
tactfully,gently,and asfriendly backcountryneighbors,
educate lesswelltraveled mountainenthusiasts.They
just might,in return, allow us to continue to ski.This is
one sound business reason for making an effort to commu-
nicate.I believe there is a moral obligation too - togive
othermountain people the survival knowledge they need
for both avalanche safety, andthe abilityto make long term
ecological decisions based on reality.
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