New Heli Skiing Operation With 648,000 Acres of Terrain Opens in British Columbia

Looking for a way to escape the crowds? This winter, a new helicopter skiing outfit, Gold Rush, is opening in Atlin, British Columbia.

The operation’s tenure spans from Atlin to the Alaskan border, covering 648,000 acres of skiable terrain and the Juneau Icecap. 100 ft. of snow falls there annually (1,200in./3,000+cm) .

Gold Rush bills itself as “boutique helicopter skiing at its finest,” transporting small groups of eight guests into the mountains with two A-Star helicopters.

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Five-day packages cost $12,500 and include unlimited helicopter-served vertical, food, and lodging. Weeklong packages cost $17,500. Less expensive helicopter-assisted ski touring packages are available for $6,500. Private packages and lodge buyouts are available, as well. Gold Rush said that spots for the upcoming winter have already begun to fill in.

Similar to other helicopter skiing operations, Gold Rush recommends that visitors be intermediate to advanced resort skiers.

The outfit houses guests in Atlin’s Moose Hill Lodge, which features a wood-fired hot tub and an electric sauna. On weather days, Gold Rush offers activities like snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.

Gold Rush has enlisted Johnny Mellis as its lead guide, who spent 34 years with Canadian Mountain Holidays and the last 29 as the general manager at the CMH property Cariboos Lodge. According to a press release shared by Gold Rush, Mellis originally joined the project as a consultant, but when he “saw the terrain and lodge, he packed his bags.”

The small, 475-person town of Atlin is two hours south of Whitehorse, Yukon, which has an airport that connects with hubs like Vancouver, Calgary, and Juneau. The Gold Rush team will transport visitors from there to the lodge either by car or helicopter, depending on the package they bought.

Gold Rush was founded by Brian McCutcheon and Ashley Scanlan, who lead ROAM Adventures, a guiding service that organizes everything from safaris to ski trips. 

The Gold Rush opening announcement follows the July acquisition of Mustang Powder—a British Columbian catskiing operation—by Heli, the adventure travel company that also owns Silverton Mountain, Colorado. 

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