Fjords & Fantastic Descents / Heliskiing in Alaska

Welcome to the adventure of a lifetime. This one of a kind trip departs from the port town of Juneau, Alaska onboard The Zenith, a 124’ retrofitted Alaskan fishing vessel. Recently completely renovated and updated for adventure with a helipad and hot tub on deck along with 4 staterooms accommodating up to 6 guests and spacious communal areas below. Based on the Zenith for the week, with a private A-Star B2 Helicopter at the ready, this is no ordinary heli-ski trip. Combining the adventure and relaxation of a small cruise ship with a large swath of never before skied terrain, this adventure is all about first descents and exploring the most remote areas and mountains of Alaska’s Inside Passage. 

Highlights include skiing first descents and naming new runs, watching the northern lights from the hot tub, wildlife viewing and exploration via sea kayak, catching fresh fish and king crabs and experiencing the Alaskan wilderness with no one else around.

The advantages of being based on a boat with a helicopter at the ready on deck are numerous. The weather and snow conditions throughout the vast permit area can differ greatly, so a mobile home base makes sure you wake up where the snow and weather are best. The many fjords and protected waterways of the inside passage are perfectly suited for exploration by boat, with generally calm seas, spectacular deep water coves and abundant wildlife. While the helicopter is always available to take you ashore or into the mountains.

There’s no better way to experience the excitement and majesty of skiing in Alaska’s legendary coastal mountains.

SEABA has access to terrain from Petersburg, Alaska to Haines, Alaska. Our heli skiing area extends over 250 nautical miles from the southern reaches of Southeast Alaska all the way to the British Columbia / Yukon border. Unique to SEABA and our partners at Alaska Powder Descents (APD) we have three distinct staging areas Haines, Juneau and Petersburg. Each port has distinct weather influences and terrain options, allowing us to give our clients the best opportunity to crush powder. Further with such a vast area to operate it allows us to move our operations to areas with the most favorable Heli Ski conditions.

Additionally, the tree line in Southeast Alaska (2,500 to 3,000ft) is higher than any other Alaskan heli skiing destination, giving our clients access to epic tree lines even when the peaks are fogged in. SEABA provides everything from mellow rollers to spicy steeps. Rest assured there is heli skiing terrain for all ability levels. 

Haines benefits from a unique set of meteorological and geographic circumstances that create a skiing and snowboarding experience second to none. We are surrounded by some of the highest coastal mountains in the world: the massive Fair-Weather Range with peaks as high as 15,325ft, the Saint Elias Mountains with peaks up to 18,008ft and the sub-Arctic Yukon Steppes to the North. The Aleutian Low, one of the world’s great storm nurseries, resides directly upwind providing some of the most reliable snowfall on the planet. Magic happens when those bitter cold artic temps meet the relatively warmer ocean air masses. The moisture that moves inland slams into a virtual wall of relief and provides dumps so massive they leave no question in your mind that Ullr, the God of winter, is real. The weather clears early and often and the snow quality is unrivalled. The combination of Arctic and Maritime influences make the snow in the Haines area some of the driest and most stable on earth, enabling us to ski and snowboard from almost 8,000 feet to sea level.