Heliboarding in New Zealand By klubhead We left Tokyo on a boiling August day in search of fun and freshies.

1 bus, 1 train and 3 planes later (and a lot of very boring Korean history documentaries) we arrived in Christchurch and headed straight for Methven, the base for Mt Hutt. We had images of Whistler, Charmonix and even Echigo Yuzawa but we got Nishi-hino!! Actually that's not true as Nishi-hino is much bigger. The next day we made our way up to Mt Hutt only to find conditions suitable for Torvil and Dean or other past figure skating stars. I don't mind a little ice but not so much that you could see your reflection from the lift. We soon headed back to 'town' to reduce swellings, sharpen edges etc... THEN it dumped 40cms.  We were up at 5, in the car at 6 and at the entrance road at 7 to find that Mt Hutt was closed due to snow! After this I renamed the mountain Mt Shut. It was this bizarre event that made me decide to take to the air.

I had wandered into Methven Heliski a few days earlier but was told that a front was on the way and to wait a few days. After getting the go to fly at 11am we drove about 60km to the remotest sheep farm in the world where we were flying from. This is the only time I've had sheep shit on the snowboard. After being briefed about transceivers, avalanches and helicopter safety we were off. I was a little concerned because I had no idea who I was boarding with or their level but we had been asked about our boarding experience back in the office so I just got on with the task of enjoying the most beautiful scenery in the world.

We headed off to the Arrowsmith range and after the pilot dropped us off on a tiny ledge I realized the fun that was to be had. Peak after peak of untouched fresh was ours for the taking. Our guide Jerry dug a pit to check the stability and then suggested some lines. Most lines were between 30 and 45 degrees and super long. Riding a Burton fish, I had no back leg burn and just rode that baby hard!!! This was more fun than going off the peak at Niseko! The two Aussie guys I was with were about the same level so nobody was holding any one back. Each time the pilot picked us up we searched other bowls and faces for new lines and never rode anything but fresh!! Dozens of lines were had and we left our signature on the mountain. The snow was a little variable, higher up being Hirafu-ish pow, lower down being more like Kagura.

More faces were desecrated before the day was through and we choose to do another run just for the heck of it. Why not?? Price? $695 (NZ) for 5 runs inc. lunch (awesome) and $60 for each additional run. Worth every cent.

Several days later we headed down to Wanaka (I had long since given up with the icy slopes of Mt shut) and it was straight to the offices of New Zealand back country helicopters. In Wanaka Harris Helitours dominates the heli-business and they are good but a little too big with sometimes 80+ people going up in a day. In Methven we had 10 people only on the entire range - compare that to 80. Which do you choose? Each company operates on a different mountain range with pretty similar terrain so you're guaranteed fun whoever you go with. I booked in for another days heliboarding and in the meantime headed up to the remarkables to suffer resort phobia- a fear of buying a lift ticket, waiting for a lift (NO WAY) and less than perfect snow. But with a bit of hiking some powder was found (along with rocks).

Next day was spent up in the mountains with only 4 other guys from Oz. Deep blue skies and 20 to 50cms of fresh awaited! Our guide Simon was superb, he really knew what he was doing and knew the terrain like the back of his hand. Lunch was included in the price and was delivered by helicopter, it sure beats eating cardboard sandwiches in a smoky cafeteria. The afternoon brought 3 more runs which seems to be he norm with heliboarding - 2 in the morning, lunch, then 3 in the afternoon. After the 5 runs the aussie guys had decided that that was that, however, I was more than up for some extra runs. However, to do extra runs the majority of the group have to do them to make it worthwhile for the company so bear this in mind if you go up with people you don't know.

Having being bitten by the heliboarding bug and having heard another southwesterly was closing in, I booked in for another day, 3 days off. In the meantime we hit Cadrona (great park but way too crowded) and the Remarkables (where I managed to fall while coming off the lift in front of everyone and sprain my ankle). Saturday came with reports of 50cms plus on the range so it was back in the helicopter. Unfortunately the tail end of the front was still lingering and conditions were not good, flat light and high winds so we could only get in one run before calling it a day. This time I was with another group of people who I didn't know (again) and this caused a bit of a problem. Very inexperienced boarders were put in with more experienced ones (I'm no Ross Powers but I’ll do try most lines) and so we ended up doing a long run based on the lowest level, ie not challenging to higher level boarders. To be fair to the helicompany, it was the first run of the day and they always do a gentle run to really see peoples ability, but it was obvious that huge differences were present (4 years riding back country in Japan, Whistler and Charmonix compared to 3 weeks on a board!). So I say again, really check who you are going up with. Anyway, it was back to the motel to watch more TV, eat some more cakes, pop into Wanaka for a board tune ($40 NZ including a stone grind) and wait until Monday when our day had been shifted to.

Monday came and conditions were perfect - blue skies, freshies and no wind. This time many of us were up for more runs (even though Simon set off a slab avalanche) and after five, we decided to go for another two. The differences in level turned out not to be such a problem as most faces had two or more routes down allowing people to choose something that suited them. Next day was spent racing back from Queenstown to Christchurch, only to get a speeding ticket 10kms from the airport!

If you go to NZ, you gotta try the helibaording, it isn't so expensive and once you try it, you're hooked!!

Here are some pointers, prices etc...

klubhead

More of klubheads photos can be found on his Readers Gallery page.