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Sun Valley Heli Ski

Ketchum, ID, United States

Sun Valley Heli Ski is the oldest heliskiing Operator in the lower 48, flying skiers and snowboarders into the backcountry around Sun Valley, Idaho, since 1965. Bill Janss started the operation that year after heliskiing with Hans Moser in Canada, and in 1966 the first U.S. Forest Service heliskiing permit on public land was issued. Today the company is owned by Alex Kittrell, a longtime operations manager who took over in 2024 and still guides as Owner and Lead Guide. Their U.S. Forest Service permit covers what Sun Valley Heli Ski describes as the largest heliskiing terrain of any Operator in the lower 48, spread across four mountain ranges around Sun Valley: the Smoky, Boulder, Soldier, and Pioneer Mountains. Runs typically drop 1,000 to 3,000 vertical feet, and the terrain suits intermediate through expert skiers and riders. The heliski terrain averages 200 to 400 inches of snow a year, the region sees more than 250 sunny days annually, and the season runs from December 1 to March 15. Sun Valley Heli Ski flies an A-Star B3e that carries 4 guests, a guide, and a pilot, for a 4:1 guest-to-guide ratio, and they take no more than 16 skiers and riders a day across up to 4 groups. Every day starts at their headquarters at the Sun Valley Gun Club, just up the road from Sun Valley Resort, where guests receive a Mammut avalanche airbag and transceiver and attend a mandatory safety briefing. The guiding team has more than 100 years of collective experience guiding and touring this terrain and includes a dedicated Snow Safety Officer. Sun Valley Heli Ski is a member of the Heli-Ski U.S. Association. Their core Adventure is the Full Day Heli Ski: 6 guaranteed runs with lunch served in the field. Groups can also book a private helicopter for the day, try Heli Assisted Ski Touring (HASTA) to earn their turns in remote terrain, or pair heliskiing with a stay at Sun Valley Resort through the Sun Valley Resort Lodging Package. For a multi-day trip, the Smoky Mountain Lodge Heli Trip is a 3-day, 2-night stay for up to 8 guests at a backcountry lodge on the South Fork of the Boise River, which Sun Valley Heli Ski describes as the only remote fly-in heliski lodge in the lower 48. And when storms ground the helicopter, Sun Valley Resort is right there as a backup.