Heliboarding: Snowboarding a Heliski Trip

The short answer: yes, snowboarders are welcome

Let us clear this up straight away, because it is the question every rider asks before booking: yes, you can go heliskiing on a snowboard, and you are entirely welcome to. The word "heliskiing" is a catch-all. It describes the activity of being flown by helicopter to untracked backcountry terrain, and it has always included snowboarders. When people want to be specific they call it heliboarding, but it is the same trip, the same helicopter, the same guides and the same mountains.

Heliboarding is not some fringe request that operators reluctantly accommodate. It is thriving, and has been for decades. Snowboarders make up a healthy share of backcountry trips worldwide, and any serious operator plans for mixed groups as a matter of course. With Viking Heliskiing in Iceland, you book exactly the same package at the same price whether you ride a board or ski, and Heliski Travel arranges that booking for you at the same price as going direct. So if you have been hesitating because the marketing says "ski", stop hesitating. The mountain does not care what is strapped to your feet, and neither does the helicopter. Browse the packages and read on to understand exactly how a heli day works on a board.

Why heli terrain is a snowboarder's dream

If you love snowboarding for the feeling of floating through deep, untouched snow, then heli terrain is close to the platonic ideal. A helicopter drops you at the top of long, open runs that almost nobody else has touched. There are no lift queues, no chopped-up runs by mid-morning, and no fighting for first tracks. Every descent starts on a clean canvas.

Snowboarders arguably get even more from this than skiers do. Wide, open faces and rolling fall-line terrain are exactly where a board comes alive. You can lay out long, drawn-out powder turns, surf the fall line, and let the board do what it was built to do without the tight, technical, tree-to-tree navigation that some resort backcountry demands. Big pillowy faces, sustained gradients and untracked spring snow are made for the way a snowboard carries speed and holds a line. Add in the sheer scale of the vertical on offer, and you get long, uninterrupted runs where you settle into a rhythm rather than stopping every few turns. For a deeper look at how to make the most of that snow, our guide on how to ski powder covers technique that translates directly to a board.

The snowboarder's quirk: flat sections and traverses

Now for the honest part, because a useful article does not pretend snowboarding a heli trip is identical to skiing one. There is one real quirk for riders, and it is the flat. Skiers glide across flat sections, cat-tracks and long traverses almost for free. A snowboard does not glide the same way, and a dead-flat runout or a long sidehill traverse can be a genuine faff on a board.

The good news is that this is entirely manageable, and experienced heliboarders barely think about it. The techniques are simple and worth practising before you go:

• Carry your speed. The single biggest fix. As you approach a flat section, keep your speed up rather than scrubbing it off. Momentum carries you across ground that would otherwise stop you dead.
• Stay high on traverses. On a sidehill traverse, hold your line high. Skiers tend to drift low; a rider who stays high keeps options open and avoids having to climb back up.
• Unstrap and skate or walk. For the occasional truly flat stretch, just pop your back foot out and skate, or unstrap fully and walk. It is not glamorous, but it is quick, and it beats windmilling your arms hoping for glide.
• Pick lines with the guide. This is the real secret. Your guide knows the terrain intimately and can point you down lines that flow into the pick-up rather than running out flat.

Talk to your guide at the start of the day. A good IFMGA/UIAGM guide has led countless mixed groups and knows which zones and which lines keep the board moving. Communicate that you ride, and they will factor it into their choices. On the sea-to-summit descents Viking runs on the Troll Peninsula, roughly 1,200 to 1,500 metres of vertical down to the Arctic Ocean, the terrain tends to roll and fall away, which naturally suits a board.

The splitboard question

Splitboarders often ask whether they need to bring their touring setup on a heli trip. The honest answer for most weeks is: probably not essential, but worth discussing with the operator. The whole point of heliskiing is that the helicopter does the climbing, so the long skinning ascents that justify a splitboard in the touring world simply are not part of a standard heli day.

Where a splitboard can earn its place is on the occasional short skin or approach to reach a specific line, or a brief uphill or flat section that would otherwise mean unstrapping and walking. Some riders like the versatility and bring one anyway; others find a splitboard a slight compromise on the descent compared to a dedicated solid board, and prefer to keep things simple. There is no single right answer.

The sensible move is to ask the operator about your specific dates and terrain before you decide. Conditions, the zones in play and how much short skinning is likely all feed into it. For a typical heli week, a solid freeride or all-mountain board is usually all you need, and you get the best possible ride on the way down. If you want tailored advice for your trip, get in touch via our contact page and we will check with the operator for you.

Riding powder on a board versus skis

Here is the part riders will enjoy hearing: a snowboard is a wonderful tool for deep snow. Once you adapt to the depth and the lack of a hard base underfoot, powder feels floaty, forgiving and utterly natural on a board. The wide, single platform planes on top of soft snow beautifully, and many riders feel more at home in deep powder than they ever do on a groomed piste.

There are a few adjustments worth internalising. Keep a little weight back to lift the nose and let the board float rather than dive. Stay smooth and rounded with your turns rather than sharp and edgy; powder rewards a surfy, drawn-out style. And expect to ride slightly faster than you might on piste, because speed keeps you planing on top of the snow. None of this is complicated, and most competent riders adapt within a run or two.

Compared to skis, a board is arguably more intuitive in soft snow once you commit, because you are not managing two independent planks in three-dimensional powder. The trade-off is the flat sections we covered above. Get your kit right and your speed up, and heliboarding delivers some of the best turns of your life. Our notes on what to pack for heliskiing apply just as much to riders as skiers, with a few board-specific tweaks below.

The ability level you need

Heliboarding is not only for sponsored freeriders, but it is not a beginner activity either. The realistic bar is a confident all-mountain rider who is comfortable off-piste in variable, ungroomed snow. If you can link turns cleanly down a steepish open face, adapt when the snow changes from soft to firm to heavy, and ride long descents without your legs turning to jelly, you are in good shape.

You do not need to have ridden the backcountry before, and you do not need to be dropping cliffs. Powder is more forgiving than it looks, and the IFMGA/UIAGM guides choose terrain to match the group's level, so a well-run day feels challenging but achievable rather than terrifying. That said, be honest with yourself and with the operator about your riding. Backcountry snow is more demanding than a groomed run, the days are physical, and long sea-to-summit descents ask a lot of your legs. Fitness genuinely helps. If you spend the season riding piste blues comfortably but tense up the moment you leave the groomers, build a bit more off-piste mileage before you commit.

Mixed ski and board groups are normal

One worry riders sometimes have is that they will be the odd one out, holding up a group of skiers. In practice, mixed ski and snowboard groups are completely standard on heli trips, and operators run them all the time. Guides are used to the small differences in how boards and skis move through the terrain, and they manage the group so everyone flows.

The main thing that makes a mixed group work is communication with the guide about traverses and flat sections. Flag at the start that you ride, so the guide can pick lines that keep the board moving and can position pick-ups sensibly. On traverses, riders should hold high while skiers naturally sit lower; a good guide accounts for this. If you are travelling as a group of friends with a mix of skiers and boarders, that is a normal and enjoyable way to do a heli trip, and nobody needs to feel like the awkward one. The group dynamic is part of the fun, sharing untracked runs and swapping notes at the bottom of each descent.

Gear notes for heliboarders

Most of the standard heliski kit list applies to riders unchanged. A few points are worth calling out specifically for snowboarders:

• Bring your own board. Fit, flex and feel are personal, so ride a board you know and trust. A solid freeride or all-mountain board with decent width and float in soft snow is ideal for heli terrain.
• Confirm rentals in advance. If you would rather not fly with a board, ask the operator whether suitable snowboards are available to rent, and in what sizes, before you travel. Do not assume; confirm.
• Avalanche safety kit is provided. Viking Heliskiing supplies a transceiver, shovel and probe as standard, and the guides brief you on their use. Bring your own transceiver only if you prefer a familiar device.
• Waterproof, warm outerwear. Iceland's spring weather off the ocean is variable, so a good waterproof, breathable shell and a flexible layering system matter as much for riders as for skiers.
• A short leash or spare hardware. Bring a small kit of spare straps, a screwdriver and any binding parts you might need, because backcountry days are no place to be caught out by a stripped screw.

Note that board-specific gear beyond the avalanche safety kit is not something to assume is provided. The transceiver, shovel and probe are supplied as standard; anything else, including the board itself, you should either bring or confirm as a rental. When in doubt, ask before you fly. For the full rundown, read what to pack for heliskiing.

Why Iceland suits snowboarders

Iceland deserves a special mention for riders, because the terrain on the Troll Peninsula (Tröllaskagi) genuinely suits a snowboard. Viking Heliskiing is based in Siglufjörður in North Iceland, running eleven mapped zones of terrain, with a season that stretches from March to mid-June. What makes it special for boarders is the shape of the mountains.

The signature Icelandic experience is the sea-to-summit descent, roughly 1,200 to 1,500 vertical metres from the tops right down to the Arctic Ocean. That terrain tends to roll and flow, with open faces and sustained fall-line gradients rather than the tight, flat-punctuated navigation that trips up boards elsewhere. Long, rolling lines that carry you all the way to the sea are exactly what a snowboard wants: room to open up, hold speed and draw out big surfy turns. The base is the comfortable 4-star Sigló Hótel on the waterfront, and the whole set-up, from the guides to the terrain, works beautifully for a rider. Read more about heliskiing in Iceland to picture the trip.

Snowboarder tips for a heli trip

Pull it all together and a first heli trip on a board becomes straightforward. Keep these in mind:

• Tell your guide you ride at the start of every day so they can pick flowing lines and sensible pick-ups.
• Carry your speed into every flat section and runout; momentum is your best friend on a board.
• Stay high on traverses and be ready to unstrap and skate the occasional dead-flat stretch.
• Ride slightly back and smooth in powder to keep the nose up and the board planing.
• Bring your own board and boots you trust, and confirm any rental with the operator in advance.
• Build off-piste mileage before you go if most of your riding is on groomed runs.
• Pack for variable weather with a solid waterproof shell and flexible layers.
• Relax and enjoy it. Mixed groups are normal, guides handle the details, and the snow is made for a board.

Heliboarding is not a compromise or an afterthought. It is one of the purest forms of snowboarding there is: untracked snow, huge vertical, no queues, and open faces built for the way a board rides. If you have wondered whether a heli trip really welcomes snowboarders, the answer is a resounding yes, and Viking Heliskiing in Iceland is a superb place to do it. Look through our packages, all bookable at the same price as going direct, and get in touch to plan your trip.

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