Iceland, March 29, 2016

Day One of Heli Skiing

Arctic Heli Skiing in Iceland
Living a dream come true.

I was very fortunate to be the winner of Arctic Heli Skiing’s Lucky Leap Year Giveaway. The prize was a 4 Day Classic Heli Skiing Package. Besides amazing heli skiing, the package also included lodging at Klængshóll Lodge (true luxury in a rustic setting), all meals (delicious gourmet food prepared by a full-time chef), morning Yoga classes, full use of Lodge Spa facilities, as well as complimentary beer! Included in the many beer choices are a light and a dark beer with Arctic Heli Skiing’s private label made by a local brewery.

Some people may say that getting there is half the fun. I wouldn’t say this about a seven hour overnight flight to Iceland, but riding up in a helicopter for each scenic ski run to more untracked powder comes close.

This was the first day of heli skiing. In the morning we went over safety procedures. This included checking our equipment which included beacons, shovels, probes, Pieps Jetforce airbag backpacks, and helicopter procedures.

Our ride

A panoramic view above one of our morning runs

A mountain view from the heli

Tracks

A lunch break gave Doug some time to reflect

If you look closely you can see Doug’s wife Debbie along with Peter, Stev, and our guide Einar.

Our guide Einar getting ready for an early evening run

An amazing first day. After feeling the initial excitement of the first few runs I found that I was able to take in more of the experience – the vastness of the mountains, the still and silence after the heli leaves, the diamond like sparkle and shine on the surface of the snow, rhythmically floating on untracked powder runs, and then realizing I get to do this again and again.