I've been busy since I returned. It was easy to edit up the video of the two days from hell, since there wasn't much footage to start with and then there was some obvious "gems". I'd planned on getting this good part of the trip up sooner, but it's a busy time of year for me - corporate year end, busiest revenue period of the year, etc.
I have had some time to reflect on the trip. I'm still bitter over days 1/2, still pretty stoked over days 3/4. In the previous post I'd said days 3/4 were my best days of heli ever. I still mostly believe that. Lots of pillows, jibs, rocks, cliffs, etc. Way more than I've ever had access to. By far the best alpine experience I've ever had. Tree riding was minimal due to the time of the year. Looking back at the Wiegele trips, those were great too, but in a different way. Blower snow and trees. I don't think there's anything better than that.
I have decided that this was my last heli trip though. The only way I'll go again in the future is with an entire group of people. They need to be in shape, like the same type of terrain, and ride with a similar level of aggressiveness. Oh, and they need to be able to cough up 1-3K per day. There's just too much of a gamble when flying solo, even when you try to pre-arrange stuff with the operation. The only exception to this might be getting on standby - as some places offer last minute day by day deals in the range of $500-$700/day - which at that price, you're willing to deal with some bullshit.
Thanks to Richard for his helmet cam footage. It's nice to have a third person view. It'd be even nicer if you turned the time/date stamp off :)
And thanks to the Shane for snapping some pics too. There's a couple of great action shots that I wouldn't have had otherwise.
This trip was Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Four days total, here's the poop on the ugly part (days 1&2). There will be a separate post detailing the two good days (days 3&4) up soon.
The story starts last summer when I sought a booking at Mica Heli. They'd gotten a ton of press as an advanced/expert operation with epic terrain, guiding that didn't involve getting your hand held and an amazing weather record of zero down days in 5 years. I sent off this email
Hello,
I'm looking to book a trip for next season and I have a dilemma, friends who can afford to heliski, but lack the skills to keep up and friends who can't afford it, but have the skills... this has resulted in me "flying solo" for my powder fixes in the past
I had over 2 weeks of mechanized (cat/heli) in last season and found that my enjoyment was greatest when I was grouped with aggressive riders who rode at similar or better levels. But of course it's all chance, you never know who you're going to get. I have had some terrible days due to old, rich dudes who can't ski/ride to save their lives.
So, I'm wanting to be grouped with similar people. I'm interested in a 7 day trip and my travel schedule is very flexible. Your organization has come recommended - I've found the guiding at some other outfits to be extremely conservative and the pace of skiing/riding to be quite slow.
I prefer fast and aggressive tree riding. Pillows, cliff drops of decent sizes. I snowboard and I strength and cardio train year round. I'm hoping you can change my experience.
Thanks,
Wade
And the reply...
Hi Wade,
No problem - you've come to the right place! We run small groups of four
and can usually pair you with other boarders or skiers of the same
ability.
What I will do is put you on a stand by list and match you up with a
group. I will get back to with some dates in the next few weeks.
Cheers,
Darryn Shewchuk
Director, Sales & Marketing
Mica Heliskiing, Powder Cowboy, Island Lake Lodge
1.877.837.6191 x2002
Numerous emails were traded back and forth along with a couple of phone calls. I was to be put with a professional snowboarder from Italy, another veteran snowboarder who'd been to Mica many times and an early 20's snowboarder from Seattle. Perfect, I'll take it. By now the scheduled trip was 4 days rather than a week due to the time that had elapsed.
Somewhere along the way, Mica claims a bunch of people canceled (odd since they have a non-refundable 20% deposit and the balance needs to be paid 120 days prior to your trip) or re-scheduled (possible I guess) The pro from Italy was still there and so was Richard (the veteran snowboarder and Mica regular) - the rest of the group they didn't know anything about. They filled 4 spots with a couple of pro's and video/photographers from the Levitation Project.
A couple guests from the previous trip stayed late and there was a couple of skiers from Carolina - I don't know if it's North or South - but it surely doesn't matter. The final skier (Jon) was a return guest, last minute booking.
Oddly enough, the sales dude didn't communicate at all with the guides. Day 1, I was with Carolina's and for one run, the returning skier (Jon). Jon was promptly swapped out and in came the Italian. The Italian wasn't a professional snowboarder. He'd never been to Mica before, but had represented himself as an "Expert", which marketing dude spun into being a pro snowboarder. Turns out Carolina had never skied powder before. Never seen a beacon before. They belonged at an entry level, first timer operation like RK or Purcell. The Italian was better than Carolina's but not by much.
I was completely bummed out by the experience of day 1. That night I took my concerns to the lodge manager and lead guide. I was told "that's heli skiing", sorry about what Darren told you, yadda, yadda, yadda". I wanted out. Was offered an insulting refund. Declined. Next morning the refund was better at 40% if I agreed to stay in the same grouping. Reluctantly agreed. Came back after riding to find the refund was now 20%. Blew a gasket. Could have killed someone. Zero integrity in the operation. Zero concern over customer experience. We have your money and we're more concerned with trying to charge you for extra vertical.
The two guests who stayed over left on the flight I was supposed to. I'd paid 80% for 2 days, might as well stay for 2 more for the low, low price of 20%. I'll have details up from days 3 and 4, which were significantly better than days 1 and 2, in fact I'd say day 3 was the best day of heli ever for me. The thing is, I should have had 4 epic days. The operation refused to make any accommodation for days 1 and 2. They even refused to make up the vertical from days 1 and 2 - "nobody skis for free" - well except for our sales manager who completely lied/dropped the ball with your booking - he's out skiing for free for two days. Same with the guides girlfriend and the staff from the lodge when Carolinas legs give out.
I'll have a very, very hard time ever going back there again. Mike and the crew from the White Grizzly trip have a 3 day tour booked at Mica next January, but they currently only have 7 people. If Mike can fill up the lodge, I'd consider going...
Watch this video and see if you still think I'm being overly negative.
