GETAWAY
GREAT NORTHERN ESCAPE For steep and deep powder covering 1.7 million acres, look to B.C.’s Pacific coast Northern Escape Heli’s slogan: “It’s Deeper Up Here” BOB LEGASA PHOTOS
I
t’s not too often that your expectations are exceeded, but on one of our recent powder trips to Northern Escape Heli, we were blessed with that outcome. The Spokane/Coeur d’Alene area is the gateway to the powder-laden interior of British Columbia, and for the past 25 years I’ve been taking full advantage of that proximity. Within an eight-hour drive from our area, you can reach more than two dozen backcountry ski and boarding powder operations. Last season, I thought I would change it up a bit and venture further north into British Columbia, to the town of Terrace, home to Northern Escape Heli. Terrace is parallel to the southern tip of Alaska, just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. With a long history in the logging industry, it once was known the cedar pole capital of the world. More than 50,000 telephone and power poles were manufactured annually from this
10 SNOWLANDER OCTOBER 2015
BY BOB LEGASA
community’s forests; over the past few years, it has become well known in the summer and fall for its salmon fishing and during the winter for its powder skiing. What makes Northern Escape so inviting is its location, which brings in storms from the Aleutians and the Pacific coast. It’s not uncommon to have 20 feet of settled snow by season’s end. It’s no wonder that Northern Escape Heli chose “It’s Deeper Up Here” as their tag line. Getting to Terrace is fairly easy, with short nonstop flights from Vancouver International Airport. Upon our arrival at Northwest Regional Airport, servicing Terrace and Kitimat, we were greeted by Whistler, B.C., native Amy Ross, who moved to Terrace to work at NEH. All of our gear made it, and a short 15 minute drive later, we were at the Yellow Cedar Lodge. This massive lodge, built from the area’s abundant yellow cedars, sits on the banks of the Skeena
River. During the summer and fall months, it doubles as a first-class salmon fishing lodge. It was here we were introduced to our NEH guide Yvan Gaston Sabourin, who brought us up to speed on current conditions and where we would be skiing the next few days. For some of our trip, we would be focusing on an area that NEH has named Cat Land, formerly used mainly as a backup plan when flying could be be difficult due to stormy weather. NEH now offers cat skiing as an option for its guests, with the opportunity to upgrade and fly up to the alpine peaks if the weather turns bluebird or guests are looking for a heli experience on a tighter budget. Cat Land utilizes nearly 17,300 acres in the Nelson drainage for cat skiing terrain. According to Yvan, “our cat skiing terrain is situated in a mature, old-growth western hemlock forest which is really playful — we have nice open