Skagway lies in a small valley surrounded by vast, sheer peaks. Those peaks have now become more accessible to backcountry skiers and snowboarders with an aerial assist.
“The highest peak out in that range is the highest point in the Skagway borough at just over 8200 feet in elevation. At the peak and yeah, the ski runs can vary from you know, 1000 feet long to 4000 feet long, depending on where they’re skiing and what they’re doing,” said Temsco Helicopters’ Base Manager in Skagway Kelly Healy.
The company is currently the only heli-ski tour operator in town and has recently secured federal permits to access land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the mountains to the west of town for heli-skiing and boarding.
“We’re working towards kind of boosting Skagway up a little bit as a destination for heli-skiing in the future,” said Healy.
Healy also said there are some runs in those mountains that haven’t been ridden in years.
“There were skiers you know over 20 years ago out there but since then there hasn’t really been any activity on that land.”
The heli-ski season usually runs from February through April, Healy said, but with warmer weather this April, operations have already shut down.
He hopes heli-skiing can become an effective economic driver for Skagway as it has been in neighboring communities. This would be welcome news for Skagway’s sluggish wintertime economy.
“The Haines heli-ski industry has really caught on and is doing well and is seen just like a successful kind of industry for that town. And it would be nice to, to kind of boost Skagway’s shoulder seasons and capitalize on a little different type of visitor,” said Healy.
That kind of visitor may visit for a week or just a couple of days, they may go out for an hour or all day. Healy says high-profile athletes have been frequent visitors to the mountains around Skagway, but he also says he shouldn’t name any names.
