Terrain and Snow

Never Run Out Of Untracked Snow!

Pantheon Heli Skiing offers a unique Canadian heli-skiing experience in the most inspiring terrain imaginable. The area is about 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Vancouver and surrounds Mt Waddington, BC's highest and most dramatic peak.

Situated on the Eastern (inland) flank of the Coast Range, the peaks and slopes close to White Saddle Ranch see slightly less snowfall than neighbouring Bella Coola, and you can expect drier and lighter snow for effortless skiing and riding. However, fly into the western peaks and it's as deep as anywhere in the provine

Named the Pantheon range by early explorers, the local peaks of Mt Thor, Mt Vishnu, Mt Zeus and so on are all well deserving of their deity. Come heliski with the gods this winter.

Terrain

Towering at the apex of the Coast Range, the Pantheons have some of the biggest peaks and longest runs you'll find anywhere. Located in the confluence of three mountain ranges well known to climbers and professional skiers: the Waddington Range, Niut Range and Pantheon Range, there are numerous descents of 6,000 plus vertical feet (1,875 v/m). The terrain is 40% strong intermediate, 40% advanced and 20% expert.

The Pantheon and Waddington ranges form the divide between the Klinaklini River to the West, and the Homathko River to the East. The Pantheon Range consists of major uplifts separated by broad U shaped valleys. In other words, perfect for heli skiing and boarding.

Snowfall

British Columbia enjoys a well deserved reputation for having the most reliable snow in the world. During the winter months, weather systems roll in like clock work off the Pacific and as they pass over the mountains the moisture is deposited as snow. The Coast Mountains are the first range to be hit and as a result get the majority of the snow.

White Saddle Ranch is 150 kms inland from the open Pacific at the head of a long fjord. This is the ideal place from which to base because as the storms pass over the Coast Mountains they dry out.

With an abundance of snow to the west and a sunnier, drier climate pushing in from the east, we have found the ideal location for heli skiing. During a storm cylce we can ski the trees close to the lodge, but during a high pressure, we can ski the big snow zones and high peaks to the south and west. There are always fresh tracks to be found.

Snowpack Stability

The snow pack in the Pantheon's is known for being significantly more stable than most. This is direct result of our consistent and temperate climate, combined with reliable and plentiful snowfall. Please go to guiding and safety for more information on this topic.

Having what are generally low recorded avalanche hazards, allows us to offer a more exciting skiing and snowboarding product. Although saftey is always the overriding determinant, we can usually access steeper and more interesting terrain then most of our competitors.

Big Alpine Vertical

Those who have heliskied with us in the Pantheon's know our strength is high alpine terrain and majestic scenery. This scenery is scattered with jagged rock towers, giant glacier bowls and steep couloirs crowned by enormous peaks. Many of our runs are 5000 to 6000 vertical feet (1500 to 1800 vertical metres), with the longest yielding 7000 vertical feet (2150 vertical meters) of leg-burning utopia.

Tree Skiing

When the storms roll in and the snow is falling we go ski the trees. We have many great tree runs only a few minutes flight away. In addition, these tree runs are getting better all the time. Every autumn we have a team of our guides out "glading" for 2-3 weeks. This includes removing low branches and cutting down the little trees between the big ones, making it possible to open up the terrain significantly for heli skiing.