Glossary

Here are some commonly used words / phrases that you may not’ve come across:

• Heli pick-up – When a helicopter collects you, be it from a remote, backcountry location or a helipad
• Heli drop-zone – An area where the helicopter lands to allow you to start a descent. This is usually on a summit on a wide, flat area of snow
• Heli take-off zone – We have three take-off zones just inside the Italian border. These are private helipads where the heliskiing days begin from, if you’re not utilising a heli-transfer from your home resort
• Heli transfer – Transport, in a helicopter, from one destination to another. We offer helicopter-transfers from your home resort to the heli drop-zone to save valuable time and energy
• Backcountry – Area of a ski resort that is un-pisted and un-marked. There’s a variety of terrain and snow conditions in these areas
• Reverse Heliskiing – Using a resort’s ski lifts, and hiking, to ski / snowboard to terrain otherwise inaccessible without a helicopter. From that point a helicopter will pick you up and take you back to resort. Reverse Heliskiing is totally legal in France so accessible from your doorstep
• Backcountry Experiences – Packages we offer, without a helicopter element, that allow you to explore the backcountry of multiple resorts in the Tarentiase area, lead by a guide or instructor
• VHS Ski Test Centre – We’ve teamed up with Salomon and Liberty skis to bring you our Val Heliski powder ski test centre. The perfect way to experience powder skis, if you do not have your own. Available on all our packages
• ABS pack – A backpack with inflatable airbags inside, activated by a pull-cord, buy propecia cheap online used to keep you at the surface of an avalanche
• Transceiver – A device that transmits and detects a certain radio frequency, used for finding people buried under snow
• UIAGM Mountain Guide – International Federation Of Mountain Guide Assisstants, known as it’s French (UIAGM) and english (IFMGA) abbreviations. We use highly-experienced, local Italian UIAGM guides for our heliskiing packages
• The Tarentaise – A valley in the heart of the French Alps that encompasses all of the resorts we operate in including; Espace Killy, Paradiski, Three Valleys, Ste Foy, La Rosiere and more
• Couloirs – French word meaning “passage” it is a steep, narrow gully that’s exhilarating to ski or snowboard down
• Deep powder – the classic, cold, winter “champagne” snow (it shimmers in the cold air like champagne bubbles) that skiers and snowboarders love the most
• Velvet spring snow – when conditions get warmer, untouched, smooth snow turns into lovely, spring snow. It’s slightly denser than powder, but just as fun to ski or snowboard through
• Crust – this kind of snow forms on top of the powder, or spring snow. It can be amazingly good fun
• Traverses – we often have to get from one side of the slope to the other, so we’d expect that all our snowboard and ski guests can safely traverse a slope without losing too much height
• Steeps – very occasionally we might encounter a steeper slope than you’re perhaps used to skiing. We’ll help you down
• Flats – some routes have flatter spots. But as you’re poling or one-footing across, take in the views – you’re alone with your group in a spectacularly wild part of the world. Enjoy it.