Heli Skiing California - Heli Skiing Tahoe - Mammoth

In The Beginning...It Was Monty Atwater (1950):

Monte Atwater's Avalauncher

Surprisingly, It all started with a 1926 Harvard English Lit. graduate named Montgomery Atwater. He called himself, "Monty." It's kind of an ironic way to begin the history of California heliskiing! You might think that a guy like Monty somehow bumped into Hans Gmoser, who immigrated from Austria to British Columbia in the early 50s and ultimately founded CMH - Nope! California's heliskiing history is quite different than BC's.

Monty Atwater Earned the title, “The father of snow avalanche work in the United States.” That was bestowed upon him three years before his death in 1973 by the National Ski Patrol together with the US Forest Service and National Park Service. That title did not come accidentally!

World War II lead Monty into service in the 10th Mountain Division unit. After the war, in the mid '40s, Monty moved to Utah and managed public safety efforts in Little Cottonwood Canyon. He first began by establishing procedures to map avalanche paths. And then he and his team of Snow Rangers detonated surplus military and mining munitions to manage the snowfall. This whole experience ultimately resulted in the foundations of modern avalanche research, control & snow science in the United States, including the inventing of the Avalauncher, an explosive projectile device that is still being utilized today.

Among other notable career achievements, Atwater was also the Avalanche Control Chief for the 1960 Olympics at Squaw Valley.

In his 1968 book titled Avalanche Hunters, Monty describes being hired by Walt Disney in 1950 to scout the feasibility of a new ski resort in Northern California: "In Northern California I once did a job surveying a complex of ski areas of the future.  My companion and I used a chopper first of all to jump over the snowbound (i.e., closed for the winter) highways. Then we used it as a ski lift with an infinite number of lines. It flew us to the top, picked us up at the bottom, flew us to a different top."

There you have it! Monty Atwater was the pioneer of California heliskiing!

Then Came Mammoth/Toiyabe Heli-Ski (1978 - January '88)

It was likely launched in January 1978. An LA Times article, published in 1986 discusses the operation's six year history, suggesting it launched in 1981. However, a Facebook post by Powder Magazine photographer Brad Dawber, says, "I was extremely fortunate to have been part of the first Heli Skiing operation in Calif , starting in 1978." He further describes the operation's slow start, saying, "In the first few years we had limited clientele and so on the days we had no clients it would just be us 3 guides going out and doing "research"...basically just fine tuning our avalanche control work & skiing powder."

According to an archived Sports Illustrated article, (and this was hard to find), the operation was owned by Jack Scantlin. Scantlin was said to have invented the pager, that little one-way beeping device that displayed a phone number to call back, that was universally used in the early 80s. Jack was also addicted to heliskiing! Yeah...we understand that problem! Wally Oldham, the Lead Guide & Director ran what was actually two separate operations for the duration. There used to be a helipad behind the Yodeler restaurant in Mammoth - Cool! And the offices were in the building across the street from the Mammoth Mountain Lodge.

Dunderberg Peak Is in the center of this image

Mammoth Heli-Ski toured The backcountry around Mammoth Lakes.

Toiyabe Heli-Ski took heli-skiers into the Toiyabe National Forest outside of Bridgeport. Scantlin apparently leased a compound of 10 cabins and a lodge to support the operation. In 1981, he was charging $295 / day, which included heliskiing and lodging!

Here's where the past perhaps meets the present. Lots of California skiers who have skied this operation may be able to confirm this. The Toiyabe Heli-Ski permitted tenure may intersect or entirely overlap with the new Sweetwater Heli's permitted terrain in the Sweetwater Mountains. According to annother LA Times article, "Toiyabe Heli-Ski has a permit from the forest service to ski in non-wilderness areas stretching from Mt. Olson (near Lundy Lake and Conway Summit) to the Sweetwater range north of Bridgeport on the east side of U.S. 395. The permitted area is 40 miles long and several miles wide."

We tried to look at the permit so we could assess the terrain boundaries, but the page was unavailable!

Toiyabe Heliskiing Adventures Temporary Special Use Permit

OK you California powder hounds, tell us about the Toiyabe Heli-Ski tenure! (Comment below!)

Unfortunately, as is the case with some heliskiing operators, in 1988 Mammoth/Toiyabe Heli-Ski suffered its demise at the whim of decisions about tenure permitting. Bridgeport District Forest Ranger John McGee Recommended to Congress to remove Dunderberg Peak and Kavanaugh Ridge from the Bridgeport permit area. The highest point in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Dunderberg Peak stands tall at 12, 379 ft. Losing this portion of their tenure was death blow - game over. The map shows how very important this part of their tenure, West of the 395 was to their operations.

Unfortunately for most of our West Coast Heli-Skier's US Team, those years represented our young and formative years, and we (were likely starving students) and never got to ski with Mammoth/Toiyabe Heli-Ski. Heliskiing regrets! 🙁

Pacific Crest Heli-Guides (2010-2012)

"Happy" Dave Rintala, who nearly a decade earlier, started Pacific Crest Snow Cats, took his place in California heliskiing history. Pacific Crest Heli-Guides apparently a short lived operation in the winter of 2011/2012.

Dave had a history in Alaska as a lead guide and avalanche forecaster for a Heli Op, known as Alaska Backcountry Adventures.

We at Heli-Skier Are reaching out to Dave for an interview. We're fascinated by the state's heliskiing history and hope to get a first hand account of Dave's perspective of the past, and what he sees for the future Of California heliskiing, both Tahoe and Mammoth / Bridgeport!

We're very interested in your experiences with either operators! (Please comment below!)

Tahoe can be a fickle area, snowfall-wise. Storm patterns are very much all or nothing in this region and can often come in wet! When it’s good, overnight dumps can be 3+ feet. However, there are also extended dry periods with no precipitation at all. Additionally, the high moisture content of Sierra snow creates what the locals call “Sierra cement”, so it’s best to hit fresh powder early. 

It’s advisable to stay in tune with changing weather patterns and try to book a snow-cat trip around a storm day.

However, the Eastern Sierras can be a bit different than the West side and Tahoe. It is marked by more vertical, jutting mountain peaks, such as Mt. Whitney. The corridor up the 395, including Mammoth Mountain and June Mountain, can offer colder temps, more wind and sometimes more fresh snow than Tahoe, depending on the storm system.

A major benefit of snow catting instead of heli skiing California is that you won’t ever be grounded by storm days. Snow-cats can operate in nearly all levels of weather, assuming that visibility is still safe. Even if there are moderately high winds, you’ll still be able to ski. 

The terrain is breathtaking. Most of Tahoe’s terrain is below tree line, making glades a norm on your cat skiing adventure. However, you’ll still have some high-exposure runs towards the top of the peaks, with plenty of technical chutes and cliff drops to enjoy. Avalanche danger can be very high, so it’s recommended to invest in avalanche training before your trip.

Sweetwater Heli is located in Bridgeport California, just two hours from South Lake Tahoe and an hour North of Mammoth. Prior to its launch, your closest operator was Ruby Mountain Heli.

They are located just outside of Elko, Nevada in Lamoille. It's about a five hour drive from Reno, and there is a small airport.

We have skied the Rubys with the Royer family. They have a huge tenure, and we highly recommend this decades old, family run business!