Heli Ski Antarctica

Heli Skiing on a Super Yacht in Antarctica
- Your Accommodations

Surprisingly, there are quite a few operators that offer heliskiing trips on a Super Yacht in Antarctica. It's not unlikely that when these Super Yachts are not leased out for a polar adventure, you'll find them floating about in warmer weather around the globe!

Unlike operators in more popular locations like Alaska and British Columbia, details surrounding reservations and trips are a bit fuzzy. Being such an exclusive and pricey experience, most operators require a direct inquiry to get specific information on heli ski Antarctica packages:

Heli Skiing Antarctica Operator Directory

Extreme Due Diligence Required!

• Powder South Heliski Guides:  Boasting an impressive, 6-deck luxury yacht that can support up to 12 guests, Powder South provides one of the more refined experiences in Antarctica. They also service Chile, Patagonia and Greenland. The vessel on their site, the Sea Explorer Expedition Yacht 77 is the 110MM La Datcha, built in 2019, owned by Oleg Tinkov: Source.
• Arctic Elements: Offering a private experience for up to 12 people looking to heli ski Antarctica, Arctic Elements provides 7-12 day trips on a chartered yacht. Their prices start at 1.2 million euros per group.
• Heliski Russia: Although primarily a Russian operator, Heliski Russia provides numerous trips around the Patagonian region and Antarctica. They combine their trips with geological excursions and sightseeing, so you’ll have the opportunity for much more than skiing.
• Pelorus: According to their site, they are led by expert polar guides and provide a comprehensive heli skiing Antarctica experience. Skiing is just one part of the trip, as you’ll also be able to enjoy wildlife viewing, kayaking, and ice climbing. As is the case with many discoveries in our research, Pelorus appears to be an Agency-Travel Experience Co. That said, they do have a good reel!

Heli skiing in Antarctica requires access from aboard a Super Yacht. These vessels are primarily newly engineered ice cutters, built to withstand unforgiving seas.

Super Yacht Amenities:

Sparing no expense, you’ll likely have access to an exotic potpourri of amenities beyond just a hot tub! These additions to your experience may include: jet skis, snow mobiles, zodiac inflatables, auxiliary watercraft, submersible submarines, decompression chambers and more!

Heli Skiing in Antarctica - What We've Learned...

For many, skiing Antarctica is a bucket list, last destination item. While the skiing quality may not be the most desirable part of the trip, the bragging rights are unmatched. If you are considering a trip here, prepare for some of the harshest, most exhilarating, and most expensive conditions on Earth. Heli skiing from a Super Yacht in Antarctica is a different level of extreme luxury adventure travel...somewhat (very)  similar to satisfying a burning desire for space travel!

That said, without having direct, personal experience...yet, here's our best guess as to how these adventures are being sponsored.

Operating a heliskiing company can be lucrative from what I've read. Operating a luxury yacht charter company can very likely be very profitable. This experience requires aggregating both resources in extreme circumstances!

The logistics of operating a heliskiing company are complex. Much of the labor is contracted (heli pilots for instance), and many of the assets are rented (helicopters as an example.) To complete the basket of resources to pull this off, one must include industry knowledge, quality staffing (ski guides that understand the terrain and avalanche danger), strong networking relationships and other intangibles which compile the recipe to properly "bake a good cake" when delivering a quality heliskiing experience to guests.

Dozens of hours of research (and an inquiring business mind as an entrepreneur) leads me to believe that the Antarctica heliskiing trips are created from many esoteric building blocks that are stitched together.

Because...heli skiing on a Super Yacht in Antarctica is relatively new...

When I have traveled and directly asked owners about their heliskiing operations, the conversations can sometimes demonstrate how connected some of these owners are in their field. A conversation with JB, owner of Arctic Heliskiing certainly revealed this. He had direct connections and planned activity in the Southern hemisphere the year I skied with his operation. So there also seems to be a strong connection between the Arctic operators and the itineraries that are getting facilitated in Antarctica.

In conclusion, the Super Yachts all appear to be chartered from a third party.  By the way, almost nonexistent, is the space on the operator's sites devoted to discussing the vessel captains or the crew's experience - perhaps one of the most important elements of a safe exploration.

So to accomplish your adventure, all you need is a large yacht, a captain, a crew, a helicopter, a ski guide, a pair of skis and a heli-pilot! How difficult can it be to assemble all that together and attract you as a guest to commit?

Lastly, I've never met a heli-pilot who didn't thoroughly impress me, so I'll give that ingredient a pass!

This trip is certainly on my bucket list and has been since my addiction began!

To use one of my favorite ski expletives from the '70s, Go for it!

BRADY

5/20/23
Brady is an avid skiing & backcountry enthusiast, aging "big wave" surfer and is addicted to heli skiing!
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