Black Ops Valdez

About

Black Ops Valdez (BOV) is a family-owned heliskiing, snowcat skiing, and sled skiing Operator based in Valdez, Alaska, in the eastern Chugach Mountains around Thompson Pass. Josh and Tabatha Swierk moved to Alaska from Maine in 2004 and started out snowmachine (snowmobile) skiing around Thompson Pass and Valdez. They built Robe Lake Lodge in 2008, added helicopters in 2012, and still run the operation today. BOV says it's the only Alaskan operation that has been run by its original Valdez owners since the day it started. The terrain covers more than 2,500 square miles of mountains and glaciers around Valdez and Thompson Pass, with a maritime snowpack and, by BOV's count, more than 1,000 inches of snow a year. Heli runs range from about 2,500 to 6,000 vertical feet, and the terrain steps up from 20- to 30-degree warm-up runs all the way to 40- to 65-degree faces and tight chutes. Guides usually start a group on a couple of mellower runs to gauge ability before moving into steeper terrain. Valdez and Thompson Pass sit in the middle of all this, so flights out to the ski zones are short. Every heliski run is flown in an AS350 A-Star / Airbus H125. BOV builds its heliskiing around Hobbs hours, the helicopter's own flight meter, instead of promising a set number of runs or vertical feet. Guests can see exactly where their flight time goes, and experienced skiers can help decide how to spend it, whether that's chasing unridden peaks, flying to better weather, or lapping classics close to home. Groups ski four to a guide and average about 8 runs per Hobbs hour. The lineup is wide: all-inclusive 3-, 4-, and 7-night packages at Robe Lake Lodge, a fully private week with its own A-Star and 2 guides, semi-private packages based in a downtown harbor-front apartment, in-town hotel packages, single-day heliskiing, heli and touring trips aboard a 70-foot yacht in Prince William Sound, a private-only package at Sheep Mountain Lodge on the north side of the Chugach, a remote touring camp, and custom private packages for adaptive skiers. The heliski season runs from late February into early May, and week-long packages run Sunday to Sunday. Storm days are part of skiing the Chugach, and BOV plans for them with what it calls No Down Days. When the helicopters can't fly, guests can go snowcat or sled skiing across seven permitted zones stretching from tidewater in Valdez to the interior side of Thompson Pass, or book snowmobile tours, boat tours on Port Valdez, ice climbing, ski touring, firearms shooting, or a massage. Hiking the Valdez Glacier ice caves, snowshoeing, fat biking, and the lodge hot tub and sauna cost nothing extra. BOV says it offers more down-day options than any other Alaskan operator. The guide team includes Jerry Hance, whom BOV describes as the original heliski guide in Alaska, with 35 years of forecasting and guiding in the state, alongside guides who've worked across Alaska, Canada, Japan, Antarctica, and New Zealand. Every guide holds US Avalanche Level II or III or Canadian Level II certification, carries medical training such as WFR, OEC, or EMT, and is trained in rope skills and crevasse rescue.