Safety & risk awareness

Depending on the type of trip you choose, you’ll be guided by one to three professional, certified guides. 

CMH has the largest guiding team of any heli-skiing operation in the world. Our skilled group of more than 150 guides represents over 1,500 years of experience in avalanche hazard evaluation and management, weather analysis, and emergency first aid. 

Every CMH guide has completed an average five-year certification with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG), International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA), or the Canadian Ski Guide Association (CSGA). 

CMH guides have dedicated their careers to managing the risk and hazards of skiing in the mountains while helping guests achieve their goals. They are passionate about the wilderness and sharing it with others in a safe, supportive environment. 

Heli-skiing is wilderness skiing and riding in an uncontrolled and wild mountain environment. Terrain is unmarked, ungroomed and includes potential hazards. 

Your guides are constantly evaluating the terrain, the conditions, group dynamics, and other factors. This allows them to reduce potential hazards and to make the best decisions possible. 

However, despite the most diligent efforts to reduce hazards, incidents can still occur. These could include: 

Avalanches
During your mandatory safety training, you’ll learn what to do if an avalanche occurs. You’ll also learn and practice how to use a transceiver, probe, shovel and radio, which every CMH guest and guide carries with them in a safety backpack.

Tree wells
Tree wells are a hazard when skiing in forested areas. Tree wells form when snow falls around the tree but leaves a hollow space around the trunk. This space can be a hazard if you fall into it. During your safety training, you’ll learn how to reduce the risk of falling into a tree well, as well as what to do if you or someone in your group does fall into one.

While we recognize that there are always risks in the places we operate, our goal is for everyone joining us to return home healthy and safe. We call it a goal, but really, it’s an obsession — one that permeates every aspect of our business. 

For a full overview of the potential hazards and risks of heli-skiing:

Waiver & Release Agreement  

Watch this: Safety Video 

As a guest, you have a responsibility to help minimize the risks of heli-skiing. 

You are expected to: 

• Provide a truthful assessment of your skiing ability when signing up for a trip
• Listen to and follow the instructions of your guides and pilots
• Learn and understand your safety equipment
• Ask questions if you’re uncertain
• Speak up if needed
• Always ski/ride with a partner
• Arrive healthy and fit for your trip

All guests must sign a Waiver & Release Agreement prior to their trip and participate in mandatory safety training sessions upon arrival. 

Nearly 60 years of experience has put us at the forefront of safety equipment and technology. We are always thinking, testing and uplevelling our safety practices and products. 

We supply mandatory safety equipment and training to every person who skis or rides with us. This includes the use of: 

Radios
Every single CMH guest carries a handheld two-way radio as an added layer of connection and safety. This means you’re always able to communicate with your group and guide, no matter where you are on the run. 

Safety pack
Everyone who skis and rides with us wears a guest safety pack and is trained in how to use its contents. This is a low-profile backpack designed by Arc’teryx that holds a shovel and a probe. The pack’s small size does not impede your movements, but it provides valuable back-up tools in the case of an emergency. 

Transceivers
CMH currently uses the Barryvox S and has a unique partnership with Mammut. With hundreds of guides and guests using transceiver technology each winter, we’re able to provide a steady stream of feedback and suggestions to Mammut to collaborate and help shape the development of the next generation of avalanche safety devices. 

AFDs (optional rental)
We have a similar partnership with Mammut to help develop the best AFD (avalanche floatation device) technology. AFDs are available to rent upon request at any of our CMH destinations — simply indicate your interest when booking if you wish to ski or ride with one. 

The intersection of snow safety, technology and nature

Read story 

We dedicate a snow safety team and a separate helicopter entirely to monitoring snow safety. 

All our CMH destinations have access to a dedicated snow safety team — either directly at the lodge or supported by a neighbouring CMH destination. This is an industry-leading practice, and one we’re incredibly proud of spearheading. 

How does it work? 

Each area’s snow safety team operates separately but in coordination with the guided heli-ski program. While you're eating breakfast or out skiing and riding, the snow safety team is focused on assessing the snowpack, evaluating the planned terrain, reducing avalanche hazards, and finding the best snow conditions throughout the day for you to enjoy. 

The snow safety team regularly relays information to the guides who are leading the day’s heli-skiing groups, so those guides have the most up-to-date information available. 

Our guides and pilots closely monitor all available weather and snow condition information to shape their decisions. 

One of the ways we’re able to make safety-minded decisions and find the best snow to ski and ride is by using data collected from remote telemetry weather stations. These are strategically located in several CMH areas and transmit data via a radio repeater network. Some even have real-time cameras. 

Armed with this valuable data-collection technology, our guides can access the most up-to-date wind, temperature and snowpack stats, and check for visibility and flying conditions. All CMH destinations meet via conference call every single evening of the heli-skiing season to share information and live observations from the day. That amounts to around 1,800 collective hours devoted to real-time knowledge transfer. Altogether, it’s an invaluable joint source of statistics to help inform decision-making. 

Did you know? 

In addition, CMH is also part of an industry-wide avalanche information-sharing initiative called the ‘INFO-ex.’ All snow operators in the province — heli-skiing, cat-skiing, plus local resorts — regularly submit avalanche observations, weather and snowpack data to Avalanche Canada, the national body that facilitates public avalanche safety. This wealth of information is shared among all operators across British Columbia, and it’s also one of the main sources used to generate public avalanche forecasts. If you’ve used Avalanche Canada forecasts for your personal snow pursuits in BC's interior, some of the data used to generate it came straight from a CMH guide. 

You’ll receive a safety briefing to learn how to move in and around the helicopter. 

Your experience will not be hurried or urgent like you might see on TV or in movies; this is technology to be enjoyed, not rushed. Most guests find that after a day of being around the heli, it quickly becomes a highlight of the trip in its own right. These are powerful machines that allow you to reach peaks, powder and terrain that most only dream of. 

Pilots & engineers 

The fleet of 30+ aircraft that make our heli-skiing program possible are flown by highly experienced mountain pilots and are maintained onsite by a dedicated full-time engineer. Pilots and engineers are often assigned to the same CMH area for years and years, so they have an intimate knowledge of flying and operating in the area during all types of weather conditions. They bring thousands of hours of skill to their job and are simply the best at what they do. Pilots and guides toget.her are constantly evaluating the conditions and communicating to help mitigate potential hazards 

Owned & operated 

We fly a combination of Bell 212, Bell 407 and A-Star B3 helicopters. As one of a select group of heli-ski companies worldwide that owns its helicopter operations, we’re able to be intimately involved in every step of the aircraft’s lifecycle: manufacturing, maintenance and flying. We own our helicopters, the company that flies them, the maintenance/engineering facilities, and we manufacture the parts that are used in those facilities. We know every little thing about these machines, inside and out. 

This is possible thanks to our helicopter operating partner, Alpine Helicopters, which has been part of the CMH family for more than 30 years. Alpine Helicopters has an industry-leading reputation for excellence and an Aerotech division that services Bell helicopters from all over the world. 

The first heli-ski helicopter 

Emergency response 

Although rare, should a situation requiring a rapid emergency response occur and your guide needs additional assistance, we have three options that are unique to CMH:

1. The area’s snow safety team and helicopter are nearby and likely available to help.
2. Because CMH has 11 destinations in total, we’re able to call on a neighbouring destination for assistance.
3. Our destinations are all remotely connected to our operations team in our Banff head office, which provides a robust behind-the-scenes support system.

We also maintain strong relationships with fellow ski operators who can be called upon if needed. 

Medical support 

If you experience an injury or medical situation during your trip, our guides and expert medical advisor will assess you and help decide the best next steps for your unique circumstances.

In addition to the wealth of wilderness first aid knowledge our guides have, we work with an expert physician who is a leader in alpine medicine. He advises us on all our medical and emergency protocols, supplies and procedures, and supports medical situations if they arise. 

He also conducts annual training with all CMH guides on current first-aid and mountain rescue best practices. We consult the latest information and tools from the world’s leading health experts and government authorities on the most up-to-date health and hygiene practices for all aspects of our business. 

Note: We strongly encourage all guests to purchase trip cancellation/interruption and medical travel insurance to aid you in the event of a medical emergency or other trip interruption.
 

Please arrive illness-free for your trip. 

Due to the shared living environment in our lodges, we take illness seriously and do everything we can to prevent outbreaks. 

If you're feeling unwell prior to arriving—whether it’s a cold, flu, or something else—please contact us to discuss and potentially move/cancel your trip. 

Should you become ill while at the lodge, we will assess the situation with our medical team and determine the best approach to care for you and all others in the lodge. You may not be permitted to join activities until you are cleared to do so or may be asked to leave the lodge. 

Note: We strongly encourage all guests to purchase trip cancellation/interruption and medical travel insurance to aid you in the event of a medical emergency or other trip interruption.
More info 

We ask that you arrive healthy and fit for your heli-skiing trip. 

Conditioning your muscles and cardio in the lead-up to your trip will help you have the best experience possible. Especially on multi-day trips, you’ll enjoy yourself more if you have the stamina to comfortably ski and ride consecutive days in a row. 

When you’re heli-skiing, if you do begin to feel tired or your muscles are wearing out, tell your guide and return to the lodge at the next opportunity. Rest and rejuvenate so you can get back on-snow feeling refreshed and strong. 

Our lodges host a dynamic warm-up each morning before breakfast to activate your heli-skiing muscles. There are also fitness facilities and gym equipment for you to use, as well as on-site registered massage therapists and spa facilities to help you rest and restore yourself each evening. 

Get fit for your trip

Workout series