Heli-ski

Zermatt Heli-ski; Possibly the best Heli-ski destination in the alps

Zermatt heli-ski is the biggest operation in Switzerland. You can either go off-piste heli-skiing with a guide, or simply take a helicopter up to the top slopes. It takes 10 minutes instead of around 1 hour lift travel time. Two drops are possible, at Rothorn (top of the Sunnegga ski area), and at Testa Grigia (top of the Matterhorn and Cervinia ski areas). You can also choose between a direct flight from the Zermatt heliport, or various scenic ones around the Matterhorn and the other 4,000m+ peaks and glaciers. Prices are between 80 – 220.- CHF per person.

The helicopters used are the 4-5 seater Eurocopter SA-315 B ‘LAMA’ und AS-350B2 ‘Ecureuil’.

The helicopters are run by Air Zermatt and we will be glad to take care of booking it for you. If you are skiing off-piste a guide is compulsory; the typical charge is CHF 600 for a group of 4 and there is an additional charge per helicopter of circa CHF 600.

The most popular off-piste descent is the Monte-Rosa from 4,250 metres altitude, giving a run of 2,500 vertical meters – more than anywhere in Canada we believe. This is a most spectacular run, starting not far from the summit of Europe’s second highest mountain, in extreme Alpine glaciated surroundings. In fact, the entire run is on glaciers, ending in Furi, and takes about a day, including breakfast at the Monte Rosa mountain hut half-way down at 2,800 metres. The exit from the glacier is quite steep and exposed: your guide will rope you up if necessary, and you need a good head for heights!

A second favourite drop is the Alphubel at 3,800 metres, with 2,300 metres of vertical.

Our heli-ski partners:

Note that Zermatt heli-ski is complemented by Cervinia Heliski, since Italian helicopters can land on peaks which are not cleared for Swiss choppers, and vice-versa. Your guide can arrange an Italian helicopter pick-up from Testa Grigia, which is the skiing border point between Switzerland and Italy, lift-served, at 3,500 metres altitude. From there you will have a number of additional drop points, among the best are Valpelline, Lysjoch, and Chateau des Dames.

Our favourite Zermatt heli-ski adventure is to start from the Klein Matterhorn and take a very long off-piste run down to St Jacques in the Champoluc valley. From there we use the Monterosa ski area’s lift systems to reach Alagna Valsesia three valleys away, where there is a very chic designer hotel to contrast with the raw mountains around. Or the mother of all high mountain huts: the Guglielmina. The next morning, a helicopter drops us on either the Grenz- or Zwillingsgletscher, between the Monte Rosa and the Breithorn massifs, depending on conditions. From there, it’s a half-day off-piste run back down to Furi and Zermatt.

At the risk of stating the obvious, you need to be an experienced off-piste skier to go heli-skiing! We would be glad to assist you with booking a guide and any further information, including first-hand experience – all of us at Mountain Exposure jump on and off choppers whenever we can. Which alas is not as often as we would like!