The FINANCIAL — Heliskiing, namely helicopter skiing, is off-trail, downhill skiing and is already accessible in Georgia, at a Gudauri base.
Georgian-French owned company Heliksir started its first operations in 2009 and since then has been serving tourists by French helicopters on the highest mountain peaks of the Caucasus.
Heliskiing is deemed for extreme sport lovers avid for long descents and natural terrain contours for snowboarding and skiing. Helisport first appeared in Canada in the mid-1950s and then spread to Italy, Alaska, Germany, France and other mountainous countries.
Heliksir claims to have been the first on the market, arriving in 1992, when Soviet helicopters with Austrian crew and tourists explored this sport in the Caucasus.
As Levan Ananiashvili, Executive Director of Heliksir, told us, heliskiing is getting more and more popular in Georgia.
"In 2009 when we first started our operation we were able to host 20 tourists with one helicopter whilst this year we have two French helicopters and their crew and are able to host 400 tourists," said Ananiashvili.
"Heliksir is a Georgian company although it was established by one Georgian and two French investors. We have acquired two top-notch quality French SAF (Service Aerien Francais – French Air Service) company helicopters, one of the world's leaders in civil aviation," he said.
"Actually we were planning to start Heliksir earlier but due to the August war and other unfavourable conditions we were unable to do so," he noted. "Talking about the Caucasus, it is one of the best options for heliskiers all over the world due to the fact that the Caucasus offers the highest mountains in Europe with the slopes of for example mountain Shkhara being 5,210 m. The most important aspect is that it is a destination easy to access from Europe needing just 3-4 hours flight time without even changing time-zone," Ananiashvili told The FINANCIAL.
Tour packages at Heliksir are as follows:
Standard 7 day and 3 day tour packages are 6,000 and 2,700 EUR per person respectively.
A 7 day tour includes groups of 4 people and one guide for each group with full transportation, accommodation, food and 30,000 vertical metres of guaranteed skiing.
A 3 day tour includes the same conditions but with just 11,500 vertical metres of guaranteed skiing.
There is also a guest package which excludes accommodation as tourists themselves arrange their stay in Gudauri. The guest package costs 650 EUR per person daily which includes a guide, use of powder skis and safety equipment and 4,500 vertical metres of skiing. There are even half day tours which include the same conditions but cost 450 EUR with just 3,000 metres of skiing.
Tourists pay 30% of the tour price before coming to Georgia and then pay the rest after their arrival. Tourists are able to pay electronically.
As Ananiashvili told The FINANICAL most of the visitors are French but this year they're expecting other countries' citizens to join as well.
"The season itself starts from mid January lasting till the end of March," he said.
"We provide a full service for tourists which includes meeting them at the time of arrival at Tbilisi Airport and then going by car to Gudauri, straight to the 4 star hotel ski resort for accommodation the same day. After that we take them up to the best routes that Gudauri has to offer," said Ananiashvili.
"In one helicopter four people can be accommodated at once. Throughout one day the helicopter can serve 16-20 people depending on the distance of the trip. The guide/instructor assigns the time of skiing from the top of the mountain down. The distance is measured only vertically, not the hypotenuse. During a 7 day tour we promise the heliskier they will complete 30,000 metres of vertical distance," explained Ananiashvili.
"There are more than 30 routes of different lengths and difficulty in six of Gudauri's picturesque areas at their disposal. Hence we have green, blue, red and black according to degrees of difficulty and slope," he noted.
"The reliable, almost silent B3 helicopter carries the pilot, a guide and four skiers. Tourists will also be accompanied by certified French pilots and engineers during the entire stay with Heliksir" he said.
"If the tourist decides to accommodate himself/herself in another hotel or guesthouse then they just pay 650 EUR for a one day trip. We can also add on some extra days after the end of the actual package trip per demand but only after making sure that snow cover is according to our standards for that time. In addition all of our visitors should have health insurance," Ananiashvili said.
Information about Heliksir company can now be found in major airline companies' onboard magazines. Tourists can also visit our website heliskir.com to find out more about their service.
The general history of Heliski sport in Georgia dates back to 1992 when company Tusheti with Soviet helicopters were serving 80-100 people in one season and these were Austrians who were involved mainly. But due to the unstable political environment and other factors heliskiing stopped in Georgia. However Heliksir is now pioneering on the heliski sport market in Georgia.
As Ananiashvili notes, Georgia has its own advantage in heliskiing.
"We can compete with other countries that offer the sport such as the U.S. (Alaska), Russia, and New Zealand because of the easy flight to and from Europe. Going from Europe to Canada to heliski, in terms of just the ticket price is at least 2/3 times more and takes a 9-12 hour flight. Whilst coming to Georgia takes 3-4 hours with no time zone change," Ananiashvili said. "Finally, if the demand for heliskiing continues to increase this year then next year we'll add 12 seat helicopters meaning there will be no limitation for us," he added.
