Is it better to have loved and lost or never have loved at all? Is there God? These are the types of questions that will come to mind during a heli ski trip.
Starting the day at 5:30 am reminded me of preparing for my flights in my Marine jet. The adrenaline starts flowing with the coffee as you begin to anticipate the extreme vertical pitch, the avalanche danger, the millions of moving parts that make up a helicopter, and the weather.
Load up the car and head up the Wasatch mountains, (a mountain range that stretches about 160 miles (260 km) from the Utah- Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States) to Wasatch Powder Birds. (http://www.powderbird.com)
On the ride up I contemplate the 35 years of skiing experience and the 5 years of training and waiting for the weather to be right for the event. I have been weathered out for years and I was beginning to think that I would never get my shot. Sheer luck is what you need in scheduling and that is what I had finally. It had been snowing and windy for days which meant that no one was up there tracking up what would soon become my mountain for an afternoon.
We arrive at the heliport to dozens of new and intense faces. Everyone was in the zone and hyped with anticipation of the day to come. It was crisp and the sun was just cresting the peaks on the other side of the valley. There was not a lot of hustle and bustle or noise from the participants. We were all in the zone and pumped to go. It was clear that everyone was on their A game and ready to absorb the necessary information that would prevent disaster. Just as I was looking out the window at my bird or “flying carpet” the guides begin to hand out devices and ask us to take a seat with our breakfast of champions on the table. Right about now is when reality hits. The devises that we are about to learn about are avalanche beacons. The instruction will enable you to turn on your device so that they can find and un earth you if someone didn’t anticipate the conditions correctly 
or if it is just your time to go. Next lets go down to the helo and discuss entry techniques and safety around the helo so that it doesn’t knock you off of a cliff, shock you with static elasticity or the crowd favorite…dismember you. The entire time these swarthy gentlemen remind me of my drill instructors in the intensity of their message. It is clear that they are not there to make friends. Their only purpose is to get you back in one piece. Someone forgot to tell them how to smile. Being that flying was my previous profession I knew exactly what they were trying to accomplish. One can’t have someone traipsing around in oblivion on a 14,000ft peak with a human Cuisine Art machine hovering overhead.
or if it is just your time to go. Next lets go down to the helo and discuss entry techniques and safety around the helo so that it doesn’t knock you off of a cliff, shock you with static elasticity or the crowd favorite…dismember you. The entire time these swarthy gentlemen remind me of my drill instructors in the intensity of their message. It is clear that they are not there to make friends. Their only purpose is to get you back in one piece. Someone forgot to tell them how to smile. Being that flying was my previous profession I knew exactly what they were trying to accomplish. One can’t have someone traipsing around in oblivion on a 14,000ft peak with a human Cuisine Art machine hovering overhead.Now that the brief is over and the food has settled its time to get to business. Preflight checks complete, batteries on, engine start and the fun begins. The smell of jet fuel permeates the air and the snow begins to fly. The extreme noise and hurricane force winds create chaos that adds to the excitement. Then as soon as it all began whop whop whop whop whop…. And off goes the first group. Then you are left in an equally deafening silence wondering what just happened. Everyone left on the ramp has a huge smile, including me.
