Bella Coola – Pantheon

Bella Coola – Pantheon

Huge unexplored terrain and first descents as far as the heli can reach. With a maximum capacity of eight people per week, Pantheon heliskiing is the perfect place for a close group of friends. Reserve the entire facility and have a whole mountain range all to yourselves!

The Heliskiing

Towering at the apex of the Coast Range, the Pantheons have some of the biggest peaks and longest runs you’ll find anywhere. Located in the confluence of three mountain ranges well known to climbers and professional skiers: the Waddington Range, Niut Range and Pantheon Range, there are numerous descents of 6,000 plus vertical feet. The terrain is 40% strong intermediate, 40% advanced and 20% expert.

White Saddle Ranch is 90 miles inland from the open Pacific at the head of a long fjord. This is the ideal place from which to base because as the storms pass over the Coast Mountains they dry out. With an abundance of snow to the west and a sunnier, drier influence pushing in from the East, this location is ideal for a heliski operation. During storm cycles you can ski trees close to the lodge, but during high pressure, big snow zones await to the West & South. There are always fresh tracks to be found.

The snow pack in the Pantheon’s is known for being significantly more stable than other regions. This is a direct result of the location’s consistent and temperate climate, combined with reliable and plentiful snowfall. Although safety is always priority #1, expect to access steper and more interesting terrain than many other operators.

High alpine terrain scattered with jagged rock towers, giant glacier bowls and steep couloirs awaits in the Pantheon’s. Many runs are 5,000 to 6,000 vertical feet with the longest yielding 7,000 vertical feet of leg-burning utopia.

White Saddle Ranch Lodging & Pantheon Operations

At Pantheon Heliskiing you’ll stay at the White Saddle Ranch, a working guest and cattle ranch in the heart of the Coast Range wilderness. White Saddle Ranch was founded by the King family more than fourty years ago as the aviation base for the Coast Mountains between Whistler and Bella Coola, British Columbia. Named for nearby White Saddle Peak (which dominates the horizon and inspires dreams of skiing the central couloir), the ranch sits just on the eastern edge of the Coast Range Mountains, and is the last outpost of human habitation before the glaciers and high peaks of the Pantheons takes over.

All rooms are single occupancy. They are clean and warm and have new furnishings, cotton sheets and down comforters. There are three bedrooms on the top floor of the main lodge, a brand new cabin with three bedrooms, and the riverside cabin with two bedrooms. Bathrooms are shared.

Before and after heli skiing, guests relax in the main lodge, a hand-hewn log building with a giant rock fireplace and comfortable seating areas upstairs and a games room downstairs. Meals are served in the dining room with much of the food coming right from the ranch! Our chefs accommodate all different kinds of diets. Bread and pastries are baked daily. Lunches are packed to order in the morning and eaten in the field.

The standard Pantheon program is a semi-private heli format with two groups of four sharing a A-Star B2. No other groups will be competing for powder. No rush & no stress. Full week bookings include 17 hours of heli-time. Its up to the group to decide, together with their guide, whether the goal is to hammer the maximum amount vertical or to explore the area and maybe ski some first descents? Its your program, you decide!

Included

• Accommodation at White Saddle Ranch, single occupancy
• All meals, snacks, and hors d’oeuvres
• Return flights from Vancouver (South Terminal) to Anahim Lake
• Semi-Private (up to 8 guests, plus 1 guide per group of 4): 17 hours flying time
• Private (up to 3 guests, plus 2 guides): 10 hours flying time
• All safety equipment including Snowpulse Airbag
• Certified Guides
• Specialty powder skis
• Ground Transport to and from White Saddle Ranch

Why Go?

1. Just you and 7 friends with 2.64 million acres to explore!

2. Massive coastal mountain range with a uniquely stable snowpack.

3. Convenient location in proximity to Vancouver means more time on the mountains.

Terrain and Conditions