Kaslo on the western shore of Kootenay Lake, 70 kilometers northeast of the better-known Nelson, had its heyday as a silver mining site and is often described as the prettiest little town in British Columbia. Kaslo currently has a population of around 1,000 and is about a five-hour drive from Kelowna Airport. That is, if you can catch all the ferries in time and are not held up by a snowstorm.
Kaslo Hotel - charming heliskiing base
Michel and I were already familiar with Kelowna as an approach airport from previous trips, most of which ended in the Monashees. This time we were aiming for the Selkirk and Purcell Mountain Range. **I said to Michel, who had almost forgotten to drive because he was so busy looking: the Kaslo Hotel and thus the final stop of our almost five-hour road trip, which had started at 7.30 a.m. in Kelowna.
Man with two dream jobs: heliski guide and sommelier
The Kaslo Hotel right on the lake is a hotel with modern facilities but old charm. In addition to the classic hotel and a bar, it also houses the **Base** of Stellar Heliskiing. Most of the heli guests stay here. We eat at the hotel, where Patrik "Strumpan" Strömsten greets us immediately after check-in. I got to know Patrik while heliskiing in Sweden at the Hotel Metrologen in Rixgränsen, which he ran successfully and where he was also voted Sommelier of the Year in Sweden at the time. And later he also ran the Niehu.
Quote Patrik "Strumpan" Strömsten
"Skiing during the day and being a sommelier in the evening. That's where I find peace. I can combine my two great interests. There's no stress here and you have time for each other," Patrik enthuses about his double job.

If you don't want to eat at the hotel, you can also experience **KASLO PUR**. In this package, you eat in various restaurants in the village. There is a tapas bar, the Old American burger joint and a pizzeria - that's it. But it provides variety and you get to know the local restaurants. In any case, we were really impressed. That is clearly the advantage of a Heliski base that operates directly from a town and not from a 5-star lodge somewhere in the wilderness. In my eyes, this is even the 6-star option because you have the opportunity to move around and learn about the place. No effort, right on the doorstep. On "down days" you would have plenty of variety here.
"Epic powder skiing" with Stellar Heliskiing
But back to skiing, because that's what we went to Kaslo for. **The weather doesn't look great, I don't think they'll be flying today**, Michel remarks briefly, putting a damper on our hopes of an afternoon outing. The rain is pelting down on the streets. But we don't let the anticipation of the next few days dampen our spirits, stroll into the lobby and are amazed to see the beaming faces of the Heliski guests. **It was epic out there today** and **maybe we get out there again later** could be heard from the 20 or so Swedish skiers.
Incidentally, 24 people is the maximum number that Stellar Heliskiing **serves** at any one time, with a maximum of 2 helicopters for every 3 groups. But what, they were out today in this weather? Really now? It wasn't a down day for them today? Michel and I definitely had question marks on our faces and they didn't get any smaller when we met Jason Remple, the founder of Stellar Heliskiing, a few moments later. **Welcome Swiss Ski bums** he blares at us from afar, followed by: **You better get geared up**.
Only rarely down days
We quickly realize that the word down-day has a completely different meaning in Kaslo and we have to completely throw our previous experiences overboard. In the 22/23 season, Stellar Heliskiing had a total of four down days - in fact, only four days on which guests didn't get to ski. And this is not because the company simply flies to take money out of the pockets of powder-hungry skiers from all over the world, but simply because it works in practically any weather. And there are three reasons for this:

1. Snow usually falls at the top when it's raining at the bottom.
2. Pilots usually have a fog-free valley to fly into.
3. Due to the trees and the many treeruns, there is almost always enough visibility for skiing and landing.

Safety first
Our anticipation grew ever greater. Still a little incredulous, we made our way to our rooms to get **ready**. A good half hour later, we were already standing in the brand new hangar, which is about a five-minute drive from the Kaslo Hotel. There we met Jason, who is also the lead guide, and our heli pilots. As for everyone else, the classic safety briefing was on the agenda. This included important information about the helicopter, what to do in the event of an emergency, etc. And a very detailed avalanche safety briefing, which everyone also has to go through. After we had completed the safety briefing, we were put on **standby**, i.e. on hold. Maybe we'll get kicked off after all... That's okay for us, we already know that from other Heliski trips. **Hurry up to wait** First hurry up, then wait. We passed the time by continuing to practise our fine search, discussing the differences between various avalanche transceivers and talking about possible skiing zones.
Heliskiing with celebrities
And then we were off and, surprise, surprise, we had the privilege of skiing with Stefan Engström. Stefan Engström was co-founder of Peak Performance, Stella Equipment and currently of the new brand The Mountain Studio, where Marcel Hirscher is also involved. He was also brand director of J. Lindeberg and is a partner of Stellar Heliskiing. Also with us in the heli: Mattias Hargin. The 2015 Kitzbühel slalom winner is now Brand Ambassador for The Mountain Studio and Norquain.
From now on, it was "FULL-ON POWDER DAYS" for the next 3 days. Even though the sun and snow alternated at irregular intervals. Sometimes we saw alpine terrain at higher altitudes, then we switched back to treeskiing a little lower down. Just perfect Canadian conditions: Runs of 800 meters non-stop, just awesome powder. Everyone had fun in the group. The trees seemed to have been planted for our natural slalom. We could see the runs through the forest almost from top to bottom. Brilliant!
Of course, a Swedish group also drinks beer and wine in the evening. And a lot of talking. We had great conversations and swapped lots of anecdotes from previous trips. At a late hour, Michel and I also found out that one of the Swedes had forgotten his passport on the private plane and was now a little "antsy" about whether and how he would get home again. If he hasn't solved his passport problem, he will probably still be in Kaslo with Stellar Heliskiing. We wish we'd forgotten our passports too... Even if it's not easy to get there, Stellar Heliskiing is definitely worth the trip!