Very few things are motivation enough to get me out of bed at 630 a.m. on New Year’s Day—but, as I learned January 1, 2012, bluebird skies and a Bell 212 is one of the most effective remedies for a New Years hangover.

While much of the lower 48 languished under a dry December, four freqs made for the Great White North on December 31, 2011. Visions of downtown bars and cheap champagne drifted away as we wound north to Cariboo country and Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing in Blue River, BC. Although not privy to the heavy storm track of AK through the holidays, northern BC had received its fair share of snow, and conditions looked promising through the early part of January.

Home to one of the largest heli ops in the world, Wiegele’s self-contained operation can only be classified as a mini resort village of the highest-end variety, which also looked promising for a New Year’s party—with lodging for almost 150 souls and serving as the hub of the community of 400 that is Blue River, the dining room was packed for a fine meal featuring sushi, lobster, prime rib and more before a cover band took the stage to ring in the new year. with at least 200 in attendance and plenty of party favors, the party was enough to inspire many to keep it rolling into the wee hours of the morning. As soon as the clock struck midnight, however, those anticipating alpine turns made for the comfort of intimate chalets and transceiver training in the morning, myself included.

New Years Day dawned cold and clear, and, after transceiver practice and introductions, we were transported into over 1.2 million acres of untracked bowls and glades and unmatched alpine vistas. Although avalanche danger didn’t allow us to access the abundant steeps and chutes up high, guide Andy Aufschnaiter, a 20-plus year veteran of the operation, delivered rolling glacial turns and a gourmet lunch in the Grizzly Hut before moving to mellow glades stacked with pillow poppers and wide-open cut-blocks down low. And even though the first day was shortened a little by the morning’s safety briefing, we still managed to log 22,000 feet of untracked vertical. Indeed, this is one of the greatest features of Wiegele’s: unlike most heli ops, there is no limit on vertical feet. If it’s firing, you ride until day’s end… or until your legs can’t take any more.  

For the next two days we swapped bluebird alpine for tree laps and high fives with an Austrian contingent under an incoming storm by day, and meals and libations with Blue River resident Jonas Guinn, the newly-engaged Young Dave of Noboard fame, and a host of other locals and guests by night. Settling into the easy lifestyle of deep powder, gourmet meals and heli-side accommodation was easy—leaving was the hard part.

January 3 brought a reluctant departure for the real world, thoroughly spent from three days of luxury living and unlimited vertical. A huge thank you goes out to the Wiegele’s and their staff for an unprecedented New Years—one that will be undoubtedly set the bar for years to come.

Main Image: Colin Wiseman by Jason Martin.