You're standing on the edge of big, snow covered country, you click in, take a deep breath of pure mountain air and contemplate the majesty of your surroundings. Then you let go, glide into exhilaration, adrenaline and the reality checking perspective of being tiny and inconsequential in an immense, silent mountain world.

Your guide will lead you to the day's best snow conditions. An ongoing sense of achievement and excitement is guaranteed. This is heli-skiing, a most perfect escape from the everyday.
You may be a first time heli-skier or a max vert regular, it doesn't matter, Extreme Sports Cafe and it's Heli-Ski partners in New Zealand, Russia and Canada will take you into the vast terrains of the Southern Alps ,Krasnaya Polyana and Whistler at precisely the level which best suits your ability.

If you can ski, you can Heli-ski..
Ideally you are a strong intermediate skier/boarder or better, with a sense of adventure. Extreme Sports Cafe has exclusive access to extensive terrain above and beyond Queenstown, Wanaka and New Zealand’s highest mountain, Mount Cook as well as some of the best Heliski areas just beyond the ski lifts of Whistler and Blackcomb in Canada, and now in Russia.

There's a lot of choice and thousands of vertical metres offering easy rolling terrain for powder first timers or challenging chutes and steep valleys for the more experienced. You'll be part of a group of four led by a guide who is committed to your safety and enjoyment of this alpine environment.

Heli-Skiing works like this...
Early in the morning we check the weather and then we contact you. If it's on, we'll pick you up and take you to the staging area where you're introduced to your pilot, and group and given a safety brief covering avalanche transceivers, helicopter and mountain safety. Then you fly off to the first run. Each run takes up to an hour. All groups meet for a gourmet buffet lunch and a relax before the afternoon's heli-skiing.
If weather conditions preclude flying you can reschedule to the next day. Reservations must be reconfirmed by 6.00pm the day prior to flying. It is wise to book your heliski trip well in advance especially during our peak season.

You can never forget Heli ski at Krasnaya Polyana!

Bottomless, snowy off-piste, on which you don’t slide, but float. Attractive hillsides you could reach only by a helicopter. Stunning silence. Boundless, virgin snow mountainsides. Unlimited opportunities for descents. It is about Krasnaya Polyana.

This place is as if created for heli ski. Huge snow-covered circuses, splendid subtropical forest, incredible variety of relief, and all this ­ on the area of more than 500 sq. km.! You will never meet anything similar anywhere! Polyana is one of the most interesting places in the world, where warm sea winds and continental cold create the perfect conditions for fluffy and safe snow. There’s a lot of snow here. This valley was noted on the meteorological map of the USSR as the wettest place of the country ­ average yearly blanket of snow is near 5 m., and the official record ­ 12 m!

In the opinion of many Russian and Foreign tourists, and also according to the professional free-riders, Krasnaya Polyana is "one of the best heli ski bases in the world".

The sector for skiing occupies near 500 sq. km. and consists of 3 valleys with the total length near 60 km.

• The Caucasian mountains, which rise here almost directly from the sea, are perceptibly lower than in their central area, but the differences in altitude reach 1500 m.

• Small absolute altitudes create the unique combination of huge Alpine circuses and splendid forest, where the skiing can not be compared with anything you have experienced before.

• Hillsides are characterized by an inimitable variety of relief: multistage snow-covered circuses alternate with intricate couloirs, wide fields ­ with beech forest, and numerous fallen trees and varying rocks and stones this makes for a wonderful addition to the “playground” of Krasnaya Polyana.

• Linear construction of ranges, small absolute altitudes (the top point of debarkation ­ 3200 m.) and prevailing south winds, bringing warm snowfalls, ensure the ideal conditions for safe skiing.

• In winter, January until the middle of March, we stay on the northern hillsides, searching the ideal off-piste.

• In spring skiing on the fields of south hillsides alternate with speed skiing in the shallow off-piste on the northern ones.

We pay a lot of attention to the security

All our guides are skilled instructors of Alpine ski and snowboard. Each of them has a great experience in off-piste skiing.

• The guides give instruction on safety in the mountains and in using the avalanche sensors before every program.

• The group is accompanied by 2 guides: one of them chooses the safe route, and another ­ leads the group during descent and ensures timely aid, if it’s necessary.

• Every guide has a radio (for contact between groups, the helicopter, and the local emergency services), an avalanche spade, an avalanche probe and a first-aid box.

• Helicopters are modified for alpine use.

• Our pilots are skilled in mountain fliying.

For whom this tour is created?

• You must be a skilled skier in order to enjoy your skiing.

Ability Questionnaire - What sort of heli-skiing should I be doing?

• The most interesting part about heli ski at Krasnaya Polyana is the amount of snow, and also ­ skiing in the forest. If you have never skied in deep off-piste, if you got used to wide snow-covered fields, then it’s better for you to begin with skiing off-piste on safer parts of our resort with our guide. Please contact us for lessons, and information on this.

• Sometimes fluffy off-piste becomes hard and wet, and this can be exhausting if you are not used to it. ­ Do make sure you are fit and current in your sport when joining Extreme Sports Cafe for a Heliski trip.

14th January 2006 – 15th April 2006.

Our heliski program for the next winter season is about to kick off. Last year we got going in November..

Do contact us to verify the Heliski season start for 2005 / 2006.

Krasnaya Polyana/Esto-Sadok, The Land of Krasnodar, Russia.

Extreme Sports Cafe Heliski partner in Russia has a helicopter and two hotels in Sochi (200m from the Black Sea and no more than an hour by car from Krasnaya Polyana) and at Krasnaya Polyana (the skiing station in the Caucasians Mountains).

Our heliski program for the next winter season is about to kick off. Last year we got going in November..

Do contact us to verify the Heliski season start for 2005 / 2006.

By the “Aeroflot” or the other airline to Sochi/Adler via Moscow or by the “Kuban Airlines” to Krasnodar and further by chartered flight (22 passengers) to Sochi/Adler.

Do contact us for help with this part of your trip.

Book your Heliski Russia extreme sports cafe package online.

The price includes:

- 7 nights in one of our hotels of your choice (full board), double rooms.
- Transfers from the airports of Moscow and Sochi. Transfers to the helipad and back.
- 6 days of the Heli-ski (4 flights per day). In case of the bad weather when the flights are impossible, the payment for the Heli-ski day (240 ¤) will be returned; though the night life of Sochi and the service of our hotel may partly compensate the bad weather.
- Total difference of the altitudes during 6 days ­ 20,000 M, 14,000 M are guaranteed.
- Professional Heli-ski guides. Each of them has 10-years experience in off-piste skiing in this region.
- Hotel services: Sauna, Swimming-pool, Gymnasium, Billiards.
- Hire of avalanche sensor and the other safety facilities.

The price does not include:

- Drinks
- Insurance
- One person in the double room (210 ¤ single person supplement for 7 days.).
- Massage.
- Visa.
- Flight.
- Additional transfer from the center of Sochi to Krasnaya Polyana (70 ¤).
- Additional transfer from the airport of Sochi/Adler to Krasnaya Polyana or back (50¤).
- Additional helicopter run (55 ¤).
- One night in addition in our hotel (110 ¤ for half - board, 120 ¤ full board ­ double room for two persons ; suite ­ 160 ¤ for half ­ board, 180 ¤ full board ).
- Hire of skis.

Our offer gives you the possibility of choosing the place of your accommodation (Sochi or Krasnaya Polyana). In that way you may get to know the Land of Krasnodar and the South of Russia better.

Please check in our online store and booking service for 2005 / 2006 heliski Russia dates.