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Stories from the Chugach
Snow science, trip-planning guides, lodge life and history - from the birthplace of Alaskan heli-skiing.
Latest story · Guides
Where is the best heli-skiing in the world? A complete guide
A factual comparison of the world’s heli-ski destinations - Alaska, British Columbia, Japan, the Alps, New Zealand, Iceland - on snowfall, terrain, steepness, vertical and season. Plus how to judge a heli-ski operator, and why the Chugach keeps winning.
July 1, 2026 · 14 min read
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Snow science
Why skiing Alaska ruins every other mountain on Earth
Maritime snow that clings to 50-degree spines, runs of 3,000 to 5,000 vertical feet, 10,000 square miles of permitted terrain and zero lift lines. Six reasons the Chugach spoils skiers for every resort they ski afterwards.
June 10, 2026 · 8 min read
Videos
Ronnie Sauermann’s 2025 heli-ski trip, on film
Guest Ronnie Sauermann joined us for a week in the Chugach and filmed the whole thing. His highlight reel is the best kind of trip report - the one shot by someone who was actually there.
August 5, 2025 · 2 min read
Videos
Modern Nomad TV: a peek at our playground
The Modern Nomad Network filmed their 2025 week with Valdez Heli-Ski Guides. The result is the closest thing to standing on a Chugach ridge without leaving your chair.
March 18, 2025 · 2 min read
Snow science
The snowiest day in Alaska - and maybe U.S. - history
Six feet of snow in under 24 hours on the Richardson Highway in November 2023 - just short of the disputed 78-inch record set nearby in 1963. A climatologist now wants to bring the national snowfall record back to Alaska.
November 29, 2023 · 5 min read
Press
Men’s Journal: "The perfect heli-ski experience does exist"
Andy Cochrane spends a week in the Chugach with VHSG: a cockpit dangling over a 2,000-foot cliff, runs of 3,000 to 6,000 vertical feet, and the guides whose nonchalance masks the precision of consummate pros.
March 22, 2022 · 6 min read
Press
SNOW Magazine: "The other side of extreme"
Jen Murphy skis a week in Valdez with Kirsten Kremer and a group of women, and finds an Alaska that is no longer what it used to be: braided pigtails, a unicorn horn on the helmet, king crab at dinner - and gravity-defying lines.
December 26, 2021 · 7 min read
Guides
Skiing’s Sisterhood: two VHSG guides in Freeskier
Freeskier profiles five women redefining what it means to be a ski guide - and two of them are ours. Kirsten Kremer and Brooke Edwards on stubbornness, mentorship, and why the mountains were never just a man’s world.
December 5, 2021 · 8 min read
Press
Outside picks Valdez among the best trips to take
Outside Magazine traces the Tsaina Lodge from Doug Coombs’ grubby freeski base - where a heli drop cost fifteen dollars - to the refined lodge it is today, and names Valdez one of the trips worth taking.
October 8, 2021 · 3 min read
Guides
Rescue mission: "I know for a fact I would not be here today"
April 2012: Austin Nelson falls 80 feet into a hidden bergschrund on the Worthington Glacier. His friends spot a helicopter a mile away - it is VHSG. Lead guide Jed Workman gets on the back of a snowmachine.
September 13, 2021 · 3 min read
History
30 years of Alaskan ski photography, by Greg Von Doersten
From the poker chips of 1989 to the World Extreme Skiing Championships, Shane McConkey and the Dimond Peak couloirs: photographer Greg Von Doersten opens three decades of Alaskan ski archives for Ski Mag.
June 17, 2021 · 6 min read
Press
Trip report: the founder of Heli.life skis Valdez
Andy Culp works with virtually every heli-ski operation on Earth. After his first week with VHSG, he wrote down what he thinks you should know before booking: the terrain, the guides, and the lodge.
May 3, 2021 · 4 min read
Press
Freeskier: "I almost had a panic attack in the helicopter"
Crystal Sagan on her first Alaskan heli drop for Freeskier: the fear at the top of the line, why the guides made it survivable - and why the Chugach in spring is worth every racing heartbeat.
April 7, 2021 · 3 min read
Press
SKI Magazine: "Tsaina Reborn"
SKI Magazine skis The Tusk with VHSG guide Mike Hamilton: a new permit on 10,000 square miles of National Forest terrain, the rebuilt Tsaina Lodge, and why the operation Doug Coombs founded keeps getting better.
January 14, 2021 · 6 min read
Press
Bloomberg: the Chugach among the world’s top heli-ski destinations
Bloomberg picks Alaska’s Chugach Mountains - and Valdez Heli-Ski Guides - among the destinations worth taking the heli-ski plunge for. And confirms what we keep saying: if you can confidently ski blues, you are ready.
October 9, 2020 · 3 min read
Guides
Kirsten Kremer: living your passion in the Chugach
VHSG guide Kirsten Kremer - hired by Doug Coombs in 1996, first ascents in the Karakoram, skied off the summit of Denali - on partners, fear, a 12x12 cabin with no electricity, and why the Chugach still gets her excited after 20+ seasons.
July 2, 2020 · 10 min read
Press
Ski Mag: "Alaska - are you good enough?"
VHSG guide Doug Workman tells Ski Mag what actually gets you down big Alaskan lines: not extreme skiing, but control, self-awareness - and knowing how to manage your slough.
March 24, 2020 · 6 min read
Press
Heli.life: skiing the heart of the Chugach with VHSG
The heli-ski specialists at Heli.life review Valdez Heli-Ski Guides: 30 years in the Chugach, the easiest travel logistics in Alaska, a 4:1 guest-to-guide ratio, and the legendary Tsaina Lodge.
March 4, 2020 · 6 min read
Presse
Skieur Magazine : "Valdez, le rêve absolu"
Le magazine français Skieur consacre son dossier à Valdez : 15 à 25 mètres de neige, 6 500 km² de terrain, des faces à 40-60 degrés et le témoignage des guides et riders qui y skient. Un article en français sur l'héliski en Alaska.
March 2, 2020 · 6 min read
Press
New York Post: how to go from chairlifts to airlifts in Valdez
The New York Post names Valdez one of five ski destinations worth the journey - and explains why intermediate skiers, not just pros, belong in the Chugach.
February 19, 2020 · 3 min read
Press
MoneyCrashers ranks VHSG among North America’s 10 best heli-ski destinations
The personal-finance and travel site puts Valdez Heli-Ski Guides on its list of the 10 best places to go heli-skiing in North America - the ultimate luxury adventure, and worth every dollar.
January 6, 2020 · 3 min read
History
The history of the Tsaina Lodge: how Alaskan heli-skiing was born
From a 1949 truckers’ roadhouse to the birthplace of Alaskan heli-skiing: bush pilot Chuck McMahan, the World Extreme Skiing Championships, Doug Coombs, a flood - and the rebuilt lodge that still hums today.
November 13, 2019 · 7 min read
Press
CNN names the Chugach among the world’s 12 best places for heli-skiing
CNN Travel ranks Alaska’s Chugach Range among the finest heli-ski destinations on Earth - nearly 700 inches of coastal snow, 3,000 to 5,000 foot runs, and small groups with Valdez Heli-Ski Guides.
August 29, 2019 · 3 min read
Pro riders
Amie Engerbretson: "VHSG is the heart of Alaskan heli-skiing"
Pro skier Amie Engerbretson on her first Alaskan line - the iconic Pyramid - the Tsaina Lodge, and why Valdez Heli-Ski Guides is the premier heli-skiing experience in Alaska.
July 15, 2019 · 2 min read
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