But how was he supposed to make the powder-soft slopes and wide-open bowls accessible to his customers without chasing them up the mountains again and again on long ascents with skins under their skis? So he dared to try with a helicopter. However, the first attempts failed: sometimes the helicopter was literally blown away by the wind, sometimes the snow cover turned out to be horrible crushed snow that was practically impossible for anyone to ski on with the spaghetti skis that were common at the time. But then, in 1965, Gmoser was finally able to record a success. Together with former US ski racer Brooks Dodge, Gmoser organized the first commercial heliskiing week. The accommodation: an old, abandoned sawmill camp in the Bugaboos between Banff and Golden - roughly where the CMH Bugaboos Lodge stands today.
What must it have felt like when the rotors began to turn, the helicopter took off and one guest after another - because the Bell 47 helicopter with just 178 hp was a two-seater - was dropped off on the summit? If there were any doubts at the beginning, they were dispelled after the first descent at the latest, as the pioneers reported great weather and the finest powder snow. It is hard to imagine what these truly virgin slopes must have felt like.
But it was the beginning of the heliskiing business as we know it today. Most heliski operators still fly from a lodge at the foot of the mountains - the base camp, so to speak - up into the mountains to the powder snow slopes. And yet a lot has changed since then. The helicopters are bigger and now transport the whole group and guide up the mountain in one go instead of just two people. While the skis were still provisionally attached to the outside of the helicopter in 1965, there are now specially attached baskets that can transport even the widest powder slats.
[embed]https://youtu.be/T5QKliuZVDE[/embed]
Two descents a day, 15,000 vertical meters per week - more was simply not possible in the first week of heliskiing. Nowadays, you can easily achieve the same amount in two days. What was then only possible for a select group of experienced skiers is no longer reserved for top skiers.
Gmoser has managed to establish CMH as the first commercial heliski provider in Canada. What began in 1965 in the sawmill camp, where the outhouse was outside the door and mountain guides and heli pilots slept on the floor in the kitchen, continued in 1968 with the first lodge built specifically for heliskiing in the Bugaboos.
Today, CMH is the world's largest heliski provider. CMH now operates twelve lodges in eleven heliskiing areas. Former companions of Gmoser, who initially worked as guides in his lodges in BC, have founded their own heliski companies. This shows that Gmoser's concept has set a precedent. There is room for everyone in BC anyway - each provider has its own exclusive heliski area. You would probably still be able to see Gmoser on the slopes of one of his lodges today with cries of joy on his lips. But in 2006, the pioneer died unexpectedly and just as tragically in a cycling accident. What remains of Hans Gmoser? Legendary skiing and nature experiences that only heliskiing can offer.
Heliskiing in the Champage powder is undoubtedly an **once-in-a-lifetime** adventure. Although **once-in-a-lifetime** is not quite right. Anyone who has experienced it once will want to do it again and again. There is an acute risk of addiction!
Strong enough?
