IT'S A WRAP!
Alaska Heliskiing has ended its 18th season and Haines has once again claimed territory as the sickest and sunniest Heliskiing location in existence. Transportation manager, Sean Cranmer, described 2009 best with his words, " How to describe this year's heliseason with AK Heliskiing? Ridiculously tight! The early season gave us weeks of high pressure, sunny days with a cold stable snow pack and it just kept getting better as the days grew longer. Followed by killer days in the mountains and more powder, all to yourself, than most would think is fair, but that's just a normal day in Haines".
We started the season off with a WFRcourse for existing guides and fell in to our Alaska Heliskiing Guide School in mid-February. This brought 19 eager beavers in to the ChilkatValley ready to study hard and acquire the skills needed to master the mountains around here. Meanwhile, Matchstick Productions (MSP) brought a crew to Haines, flew for 10 straight days in the most amazing light with perfect snow conditions, and killed it. Blake Jorgensen left Haines with some of the best photos ever and showcased them as one of the 5 artists at the Whistler TelusFestival this year. You can see his portfolio by clicking on his name. MSP brought another crew to Haines mid-April and continued to shred, collecting footage for their upcoming film, not to be surpassed by any other production this year. Check it out at www.skimovie.com.
So while MSP was breaking new ground all over the Chilkats, our 2009 Alaska Guide School students were in the classroom for Wilderness Advanced First Aid looking out the window in to the sunshine and dreaming of getting in the heli and shredding some pow. Next came AviI course and the opportunity for some runs became a reality for guide school students. With stable snow conditions, students were able to train and ski through the course following up with heli rescue, ropes and crevasse scenarios and helioperation training. All students received a greater respect for the backcountry and are more prepared to assist with heliskiing operations. Congratulations to all of you for your hard work and good luck with your new skills!
One 2009 Alaska Guide School Graduate, Tim Dutton of Squaw Valley, went on to fame and fortune after completing the course. Taking the titles to both Kirkwood and Alyeska, Tim proved that ski bum's can actually take it to the top. Awesome job! It was a pleasure baking your birthday cake and celebrating your 21stbirthday with you at the Bamboo Room. Special thanks to Michelle Parker for sending Alan and Tim to us so that we could better their skills in the backcountry. Keep up the momentum and come back to ride the big lines in Haines.
Photographer Oskar Enander, www.oskarenander.com, returned with his team to explore new ground and take home some killer photos of our massive mountain ranges. Seb Garhammer's "Cool Hand Luke" entry in to the mountains proved that a cool, collective approach is a winner in the end. A surprise showing from Marco Bernasconi and Stefan Gasser made headlines as they went from free-skiing to full on pro film stars by killing Lightmeter.
Vail local Mike Hardaker also returned to Haines to shred AK pow and you can view his story at www.snowboard-mag.com/category/tags/mike-hardaker. After going big in the field, he dazzled the crowd with "Bombs over Baghdad", a glorious display of fireworks celebrating our end of season bash at the Guide House at 34 Mile.
Team Burton scored major in the 3000 foot tree runs available for Heliskiing in the Chilkat Valley. Jussi Oksanen and Nicholas Muller conquered so many pillow rides that they were sleepy at the end of the day, proving you can fly and ride virtually every day you are in Haines.
We all felt the loss of Shane McConkey during mid-season. Many friends were in Haines when the news hit us and we gathered in memorial at the local Pioneer Bar. Sean Dog rang the bell spearheading a fundraiser by matching all contributions given that night. The bell continued to ring to no end and we were able to raise over a grand. With Alaska Heliskiing's added funds, we sent Shane's family over two grand, a drop in the bucket considering the amount of energy he gave to the ski industry. We will always remember "Saucer Boy" with the greatest respect and highest regards. To send a gift of your own, please visit www.shanemcconkey.com.
Erik Roner did his own base jumping in Haines this year, directly over 33 Mile Roadhouse and had everyone at base in awe. You can view it for yourself at http://vimeo.com/4004579 .
Teton Gravity Reasearch(TGR) also showed up in Haines, riding big lines and dominating the local bars. Their talented riders always take our mountains by storm and once again their performance will be displayed in their upcoming film. Check out their site at www.tetongravity.com to view tour dates and enter to win a drawing for a week of free Heliskiing in Haines with us! See you on tour!
JP Auclair and Julian Reginer reunited in Haines to kick off a multi year film project that will be all time footage for Poor Boyz Productions. Along with Tanner Hall, JP and Julian tackled big lines for team Armada www.armadaskis.com and produced epic footage for the project. As an Alaska Guide School graduate, it is always a pleasure to have JP and his crew work and play with us in Haines. To Alaska Heliskiing, these boys are local. JP will be in Africa this summer working on non-profit organization www.alpineinitiatives.com. Thanks for many fun nights at The Fireweed.
Australian crew Ben Herbert and friends returned to be the only group to conquer Tomahawk along with our good buddy Thomas Murach, who enjoys sharing his domain with a local goat when in town. Cheers to Australian wine and mating owl calls.
Many free-skiers like Sean Gillis from Whistler just arrived on our doorstep and found themselves able to ride in a private heli just by showing up at the end of the season with no one else around. They claimed territory on the Back Nine and skid the Border Line between AK and BC. WELCOME TO AK !
Deep, steep powder runs, amazing sunlight and highly trained guides along with stable conditions made this year's client runs some of the best ever. Kudos to all of you who came to Haines and skied long and hard this season. We look forward to sharing the goods with you again next year! - Gunalcheesh! Sean Dog, TimTom, Jameson's and our own little Tiny Dancer
"I think no matter who you are or where you live heliskiing in haines at alaskaheliskiing will leave a lasting memory in your head, whether it be from and epic run, all time snow, a blue bird day, sharing the time with friends and family or just alaska itself, it will be something that you will never forget." Beansie