In the December 2020 issue of SKI Magazine, writer Jon Jay came to Thompson Pass to ski with us. His verdict, in the subtitle: a new owner, newly permitted terrain and continued lodge upgrades mean the Alaskan heli operation founded by Doug Coombs keeps getting better.
The Tusk, and a Fleetwood Mac drumbeat
Jay opens on the peak called The Tusk - a Fleetwood Mac drumbeat pounding in his head, in time with the thud of the rotor blades. Even in the stunning Chugach, he writes, this peak is on another level, and he cannot stop gaping at it.
Then the radio crackles: if you want to ski to the right of my line, just keep it close. His guide means the narrow swath of untouched snow between his tracks and a 2,000-foot cliff. Jay drops in, the drumbeat stops, and he is completely focused on the task at hand - a steep, 3,000-foot powder descent called the Ivory Tusk.
The permit that changed the map
The Tusk and the huge swath of mountains around it sit on National Forest Service land - and in 2019, Valdez Heli-Ski Guides became one of only three operations permitted to guide skiers there. From 2006 until it closed, only one operator had flown that terrain.
The ace up our sleeve, Jay writes, is guide Mike Hamilton - who spent a decade guiding that zone before joining VHSG in 2016, and has more firsthand knowledge of those mountains than any other guide still working. During the first season with the permit, that knowledge proved critical: when a wind event scoured our signature terrain on Thompson Pass early in the season, Hamilton knew exactly where to go for better snow.
“All the other operators on Thompson Pass were hunting around for sheltered areas and places where the wind had not messed up the snow. But after years and years of going out to the Forest Service terrain, I figured out that once we get east of the Tasnuna Glacier, we start to find areas that have received a lot less wind. Sure enough, we went out there, and absolutely crushed it the first couple weeks of the season.”
“Mike is definitely an asset to our team. I think we all share a deep love and passion for these mountains, but you would be hard-pressed to find a more passionate person than Mike for heli-skiing.”
The lodge, reborn
The permit is only the latest addition to the upgrades at VHSG and the Tsaina Lodge since both came under the ownership of Jeff Fraser and his wife Ingrid. Jeff first came to VHSG in 1998 after meeting Doug Coombs in Jackson, Wyoming; he purchased the Tsaina Lodge in 2011, and VHSG in 2019.
“All I really wanted to do was go heli-skiing.”
Both businesses, Jay notes, are hardly recognizable compared to the rustic cabins and maverick heli operation of the 1990s. The Tsaina Lodge, which re-opened in 2012, still has the plush amenities described in the book "Tracking the Wild Coomba" - minus the in-shower champagne option, he is sad to report - and continues to see upgrades, including fiber-optic internet and a hot tub with built-in Bluetooth speakers.
Heli-ski nirvana, by the numbers
The lodge, combined with our history and access to a total of 10,000 square miles of the best steep skiing on Earth, continues to raise the bar for pilgrims seeking Alaskan heli-ski nirvana. SKI put three figures in the margin: 10,000 square miles of permitted heli-ski terrain; 5,578 vertical feet of descent from the Dimond summit down to the Tsaina Lodge; and 24 rooms at the lodge.
Jay ends where he began. Hamilton gives a quick fist-bump, mirroring his enormous smile. They bundle up the gear and move on to another incredibly steep, powdery descent. The thud of the rotors reaches his ears, he steals another glance at The Tusk - and the Fleetwood Mac drums start all over again.
Article by Jon Jay, SKI Magazine, December 2020. Note: the package details quoted in the print edition are no longer current - see our booking page for this season’s memberships.
