Safety

Briefing

Your day starts with an information session on heliskiing and its essential safety rules.



Equipment

Safety Equipment

Riders
1 ABS Avalanche Airbag System backpack with shovel and probe.
1 avalanche transceiver (aka. ARVA or PIEPS) .
Guides
1 ABS Avalanche Airbag System backpack with shovel and probe .
1 avalanche transceiver (aka. ARVA or PIEPS) .
First aid kit with surgical collar and kit for immobilising injured limbs.
Radio and sat phone for communicating with other guides, pilots and the heliski base.
Helicopters
Medical pack with comprehensive emergency medication, first aid with equipment for immobilising .
A the base
Evacuation equipment with evacuation seat, long spine board plus winch kit - vacuum mattress, rescue sledge, kit for immobilising injured patients, heated blankets, etc .
Avalanche equipment including shovels and probes .
Medication designed for treating anything from minor problems to injuries caused by serious accidents. A range of medication for all kinds of medical problems.
Direct radio contact with the Vielha mountain rescue services for optimal efficiency .

Your personal equipment

Clothing
Your normal ski clothes are fine for heliskiing
You will get cold less quickly than in a resort, as it is warmer in the helicopter and the climbs up are shorter than in a chairlift.
Boots
Don't forget to bring your ski or snowboard boots .
Accessories
2 pairs of gloves. Your gloves will get wet very quickly as you put on and take off your skis for each descent, so bring one or two spare pairs.
Sun protection: sun cream and sunglasses. As everywhere in the mountains, the sun's glare here is extremely intense. Make sure you bring sunglasses offering a minimum of category 3 protection.
Ski goggles. If there is deep powder, even in fine weather your sunglasses will quickly fill with powder as it flies up over your head!
We recommend you bring a helmet.
Skis & snowboards
We recommend you use equipment designed for deep snow (fat skis or long snowboard). You can bring this kind of skiing/boarding gear with you or use the equipment especially provided at our bases:
  • 158cm to 193cm 'Pure' or 'Mission' fat skis by SCOTT
Don't forget:
Ski clothes, gloves, warm hat, sunglasses, goggles, (helmet)
Ski/snowboard boots
Other: boots for walking through snow, swimming costume, casual evening wear, any medication you normally take
Equipment provided:
Skis
Ski poles
Touring skis with climbing skins
ABS Avalanche Airbag System backpack with shovel, probe and safety advice note
Avalanche transceiver (aka. ARVA or PIEPS)

Staff

Guides
You will be accompanied by experienced UIAGM guides
Pilots & helicopters
We use Ecureuil B3 helicopters owned by the Spanish company TAF Helicopters. They are high-performance machines in the mountains and can carry 5 passengers (4 riders + 1 guide).
The pilots are based in Vielha and fly in the mountains all year round.

Snow pack analysis (study of snow)

Jordi GAVALDA is our avalanche specialist.

Jordi is responsible for studying the snow and providing data on the stability of the snow pack. He is passionate about the mountains and skiing and has worked for several years with the Catalunya and Val d'Aran meteorological centre. He also works on the daily avalanche warnings for the valley and his collaboration with the team means we have all the latest info on changes in the conditions.

Evacuation procedure

We have a direct link with the Vielha mountain rescue services in the case of accident, and depending on the seriousness of the injuries, which allows for the rapid intervention of specialist medical emergency services using our helicopter.

A range of evacuation procedures can be put in place depending on the seriousness of the incident.Hence, patients can be evacuated from the helipad to the Vielha hospital by ambulance (5 minutes) or by helicopter to Toulouse airport (30 minutes flying time).



Pyrenees Heliski
Héliport de Vielha
E-25539 Betren (Val d'Aran)
Mobile (France) +33 681.70.70.68
Mobile (Spain) +34 636 06 15 17
info@pyreneesheliski.com