August 2016 signifies ten years since I last went Heli-Boarding.
Join me in the back seat for a behind the scenes look, with the experts at Methven Heli-Ski operations, as we head west following the Rakaia River to Heli-base farm and take off from there…
Click into photos to enlarge…
Within an hour the beautiful scenic drive lands you at the Heli-base for a welcome cuppa, safety briefs and to start ‘gearing-up’.
Groups are organised to place snow riders with similar abilities together and make sure everyone is set to hit the terrain they are most comfortable with.
While waiting for my groups departure I took the opportunity to ‘shoot a few of the birds’ as groups were shuttled up the mountain range.
Finally my turn arrived and the adventure begins!!!
After a run you can look back down on your tracks and the temporary signature you carved onto the mountain.
There is the stop for lunch with one of the best views any restaurant in the world could offer…
A few more runs later, as you are about to ride ‘the bird’ back to base, you have that one last look back over your tracks.
Its back to the farm base for a wind down cuppa, then later back to your accommodation. And finally, sadly, sooner or later back home. But your soaring soul still taking quite a few weeks to arrive back down to earth!