Points North Heli-Adventures

About

Points North Heli-Adventures (PNH) is a heliskiing Operator for skiers and snowboarders based in Cordova, Alaska. They're the only heliskiing operation based in Cordova, and they fly the southeastern corner of the Chugach Mountains, the stretch of range between Prince William Sound and the Copper River. PNH has been running for more than 25 years, and their terrain has shown up in film segments from Warren Miller, Teton Gravity Research, and Matchstick Productions. Cordova sits where Pacific storms run into the Chugach, and the range here gets more than 50 feet of snow a year. PNH has access to over one million acres of skiable terrain, including roughly 500,000 acres they were permitted to ski in 2020 as a steward of the Chugach National Forest. That zone has long been called the "Holy Grail" of heliskiing, and parts of it are too far for operators based elsewhere to reach. No roads run through the middle of it: groups fly out from the lodge and back each day, and PNH keeps fuel caches in the field. Terrain runs from 5,000-foot, 25-degree powder fields to 1,500-foot, 60-degree couloirs, and an average fly day is 6–11 runs and 20,000–40,000 vertical feet. PNH offers two Adventures, both all-inclusive. The Heli-Ski Week is a 7-night, Saturday-to-Saturday package that runs in weekly blocks from late February through late April. It includes 4 heli-hours per person, lodging, all meals, and ground transportation, and guests ski in groups of 4 with a guide. Because PNH charges by heli time instead of vertical, there's no cap on runs on a given fly day, and guests who want more time in the air can add heli-hours as they go. The Private A-Star Helicopter program gives a full private group or 2 semi-private groups their own helicopter and 2 PNH guides, with 10 hours of flight time and a booking window that usually spans two weeks, so the group can fly when the weather lines up. PNH runs 2–4 A-Star helicopters each season, provided by North Star Trekking out of Juneau. Guests stay at the Orca Adventure Lodge, a former 1887 cannery on the water's edge about 2.5 miles from town. The helicopters land right next to the lodge, so there's no daily drive to a heliport. Meals are prepared on-site and often feature Alaskan seafood, and the lodge has a wood sauna and a gym. Alaska weather grounds the helicopters on some days, and PNH fills those days with skiing at Cordova's Mt. Eyak ski area, plus ice climbing, sea kayaking, e-foiling, ski touring, glacier tours, and more. PNH is a member of the Heli-Ski US Association, and all of their guides are certified by it. Every guide holds at least an AIARE Avalanche 2 certification, most hold a Pro 1 or Pro 2, and all carry a medical certification of Wilderness First Responder or higher. Several guides are certified to AMGA, CMGA, or IFMGA standards, and PNH has a medical director on-site all season.