Telluride Helitrax

About

Telluride Helitrax has been guiding guests through the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado since 1982, when four local ski partners built a heliskiing operation around their shared love of ski mountaineering. Still family-owned today, Telluride Helitrax describes itself as Colorado's only full-service helicopter skiing operation, working under a US Forest Service Special Use Permit that covers more than 200 square miles (128,000 acres) of high alpine basins, cirques, and summits around Telluride — nearly all of it above tree line. Guests fly in small groups of four to one guide aboard a Eurocopter AS350 B3e or in larger groups in the Bell 407 HP helicopter, both built for high-altitude mountain flying. A typical day includes six guided runs totaling roughly 10,000 to 14,000 vertical feet, with terrain ranging from 10,000 to 13,500 feet in elevation and individual runs dropping 1,000 to 3,000 feet. Most of the skiing is moderate in angle — comparable to double-blue and single-black terrain at Telluride Ski Resort — with steeper lines available for stronger groups when conditions allow. Telluride Helitrax runs three main heliskiing formats: daily trips for individuals and small groups, fully custom private tours for groups of up to 16, and regional tours that fly guests in via private charter from Aspen, Vail, or Steamboat for a day of skiing before returning them home in time for happy hour. Beyond heliskiing, the operator also offers guided backcountry ski touring, scenic helicopter flights and film-support charters, and avalanche forecasting and mitigation consulting. The heliskiing season typically runs from the December holidays through early April, with Telluride Helitrax flying seven days a week when weather and snow conditions allow. Telluride Helitrax is a member of Heli-Ski US and meets that organization's Heli-Skiing Safety & Operating Guidelines annually, with guides who combine mountain guiding certifications with decades of San Juan backcountry experience.