Ultimately it’s a Leap of Faith and a Cool Rush

Adrenalin racing? Yes.  Anxious? Yes.  Difficult? At times.  And safe? YES


There's a little-known truth about heli-skiing, kept secret by those that have a vested interest in keeping an age old myth alive.

Anyone can do it. You don't have to be the extreme, off-the-grid style skier or boarder that heli-skiers and boarders want you to think they are. Nor do you have to jump 10 feet out of a hovering chopper with your skis and snowboard strapped on and take off down the mountain a la James Bond (though you'd get kudos if you did).

The adrenaline rush produced by the loud whomp whomp reverberations of the helicopter as it manoeuvres to come into land just metres away is WOW..... Then hooning through the fluffiest, lightest untracked snow - all the way down Whoop and holler as much as possible! This will help you relax. Remember to Have fun. It is challenging and exciting and very addictive.

Yet all of uncertainties are groundless. Even the plunging temperatures are manageable, for up high on the peaks the temperature is far warmer, at minus eight degrees.

Try out our chosen five great locations for Heli-skiing: The Monashees, British Columbia, Chugach, Alaska, The Andes, Chile, The Alps, Europe and Himalayas, India- for closer home.

Wear your love of skiing on your sleeve……..

Heli-Ski Jacket

Heli-ski Jacket… combines performance fabric with extra insulation for extra warmth.  Performance fabric provides maximum protection and breathability and insulation for comfort and outstanding performance during severe conditions and high activity. Also, mechanical Venting for comfortable, dry, warm or cool depending on the conditions and activity.

Heli-Ski Boots

The hardest boots are designed for experienced sportsmen and good skiers. The softer boots are designed for beginners. A hard boot presents the option to bind the skier’s feet with skis and provides a counter weight to the pressures which occur during intensive, aggressive skiing, thereby making it easier to manage your skis.

Archana Sardana's Rendezvous with Adventure

It is rightly said ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’…

I had my dreams of Blue Skies and Deep Blues Seas and I realised my dreams exactly the way I had imagined. The completion of the 300th skydive flight at Eloy, Arizona, USA was one of them....I was on cloud nine after the dive....I reached my epitome of excitement. It is not easy to reach this landmark…the dive was also special to me since it came after a deadly experience. A few days ago, I had my first ‘cutaway’ when my main parachute failed to open and I had to deploy my reserve parachute at 1500 feet and the canopy opened around 800 feet. A couple of seconds more and I would have been history. However, I emerged a winner as I am now a ‘C’ Licence holder of the USPA (United States Parachute Association).

Faith in your dreams can make things possible, till last year I even did not know swimming in fact I was aqua phobic......but this year I have attained Master certification in Scuba Dive by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), USA. Now, I can whirl the ocean currents at a depth of 30 meters with ease. Proudly, I have done it more than 150 times. I do not see any hurdle for newcomers to take up adventure sports.

I strongly believe the end of one challenge is just the beginning of the new challenge. I prolifically realised my dreams by getting professionally trained in mountaineering in Adventure, Basic and Advance courses from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling. For skydiving I trained with Perris Valley Skydiving at Los Angeles, USA. For BASE Jumping I trained with Apex BASE at Salt Lake, Utah, USA and have more than 45 jumps to my credit. To learn scuba diving I trained at Havelock and Neil Islands, Port Blair and at Phuket, Thailand.

You start to train - you gain confidence and learn about endurance. It is an endurance that is an exploration, pushing to find something new, looking for the edge. At 40 plus I have found opportunities with my endurance. Frankly, there is no need to get scared of extreme sports. One can face fears with strength and right training. It’s like a flow chart which keeps you on the move and connects you with your inner self. After being bedridden for 6 months and undergoing surgery for back pain I never thought I will do adventure sports ever again but destiny had something else stored for me. I never looked back, just focused on my aim and started skydiving 4 years back.

Achievements make you strong; this realization came to me after the Kuala Lumpur BASE (Building, Antenna, Span, Earth) Jumping festival in 2010 where I was the only Indian woman among 120 jumpers from 22 countries.

Hope to climb the mountains, scuba dive the oceans, jump off aircrafts and building with fellow Indians soon!

Archana Sardana