Heliskiing Terminology: A Glossary

Every sport has its own vocabulary, and heliskiing has more than most. Between the mountain guiding, the helicopter operations, the avalanche science and the ski gear, a first-time heliskier can feel as though everyone around them is speaking a private language. This glossary is here to fix that. Below you will find the terms you are most likely to hear on a trip, grouped into themes and defined in plain English, so that by the time you step out of the helicopter you know exactly what a couloir, a transceiver or a down day actually is. It doubles as a quick reference to return to whenever a word trips you up.

We have organised the terms into five themes, moving from the broad basics through snow and terrain, the workings of the helicopter day, the all-important safety and avalanche vocabulary, and finally the kit you ski on. You do not need to memorise any of it in advance. Skim the sections that interest you, bookmark the page, and dip back in whenever a new word crops up in a conversation, a brochure or a briefing.

The basics

Start here. These are the foundational terms that describe the sport itself and the family of activities around it. Get comfortable with these and the rest of the vocabulary falls into place much more easily.

• Heliskiing — skiing on remote, untracked mountain terrain that you reach by helicopter rather than by lift or road. The helicopter drops you at the top of a run with a guide, you ski down, and you are collected again to repeat the process. It is the purest way to access vast backcountry with no crowds and no tracks.
• Heliboarding — exactly the same activity on a snowboard rather than skis. Splitboarders and snowboarders are welcome on almost all heliski trips; the only real difference is board choice, and we cover it fully in our guide to heliboarding.
• Heli-assisted touring — a hybrid where the helicopter delivers you to a high starting point, then you climb further on skins under your own power before skiing down. It blends the reach of a helicopter with the effort and self-reliance of ski touring.
• Cat skiing — the same idea as heliskiing but using a snowcat, a tracked vehicle, to reach the terrain instead of a helicopter. It is slower and lower in reach than a helicopter, and usually cheaper.
• Ski touring — travelling uphill and across the mountains under your own power using climbing skins and free-heel bindings, then skiing down. Heliskiing borrows much of its safety culture and terminology from the touring world.
• Backcountry — any terrain outside the boundaries of a managed ski resort, where slopes are unpatrolled, unmarked and un-groomed. Heliskiing takes place entirely in the backcountry.
• Off-piste — the European term for skiing off the marked, groomed runs (the pistes). In practice it overlaps heavily with backcountry, though off-piste can also mean the ungroomed snow just beside a resort run.

Snow and terrain

Guides talk constantly about snow and shape of ground, because both determine where you ski and how it feels. These words describe the surface under your skis and the landscape you move through.

• Powder — fresh, dry, light snow that has not been compacted or tracked out. It is the holy grail of heliskiing: soft, floating and forgiving. If you want to feel more confident in it, our guide on how to ski powder is a good primer.
• Corn snow — spring snow that thaws each day and refreezes each night, leaving a loose, grippy, corn-kernel surface in the morning warmth. It is a hallmark of late-season and spring skiing and can be a joy to ride.
• Spine — a narrow, rounded rib of snow running down a steep face, with gullies falling away on either side. Spine skiing is committing, dramatic terrain more associated with steep destinations like Alaska.
• Couloir — a steep, narrow gully or chute of snow bounded by rock walls, often the classic line down a steep face. Skiing a couloir is a signature backcountry experience and demands precise, confident turns.
• Bowl — a wide, open, concave basin of snow, shaped like the inside of a bowl. Bowls offer broad, flowing terrain with plenty of room to link big turns.
• Aspect — the compass direction a slope faces (north, south, east or west). Aspect strongly affects snow quality and avalanche risk, because a slope's exposure to sun and wind depends on which way it points. Guides read aspect constantly.
• Fall line — the most direct, steepest line straight down a slope, the path a rolling ball would take. Skiing the fall line means descending in the natural direction of the slope rather than traversing across it.
• Sea-to-summit — a continuous descent from a mountain summit all the way down to the ocean's edge. It is Iceland's signature experience, and we explain it fully in what is sea-to-summit skiing.
• Tree line — the elevation above which trees no longer grow. Skiing above the tree line is open and exposed; skiing below it, in the trees, offers shelter and better visibility on flat-light days.

The helicopter and the day

Heliskiing has its own operational language built around the aircraft and the rhythm of a skiing day. These are the words the guides and pilots use to describe how the day is organised.

• Drop — the moment the helicopter sets you down on a summit or ridge to begin a run. A drop is quick and choreographed: you unload, crouch clear of the rotors, and the helicopter lifts away.
• LZ or landing zone — the spot the helicopter uses to land, whether picking you up or setting you down. Guides choose safe, flat LZs both at the top of a run and at the pick-up point below.
• Lap — one complete cycle of being flown up and skiing down. A day is made up of several laps, and the terms lap and run are often used interchangeably.
• Run — a single descent from the drop point to the pick-up point. A good heliski day can deliver anywhere from a handful to more than a dozen runs, depending on their length and the conditions.
• Vertical feet — the total height you descend across a day, measured downwards rather than across the ground. Ski a 3,000-foot run five times and you have skied 15,000 vertical feet. It is the standard currency of a heliski day.
• Guaranteed vertical — a pricing model where your package includes a set amount of vertical feet, and any extra you ski beyond that is charged separately. It gives you certainty about what you are paying for. We explain the model in detail in what is guaranteed vertical feet, and Viking Heliskiing operates on this basis.
• Weather day or down day — a day when the helicopter cannot fly safely because of cloud, wind or heavy snow, so skiing is paused. Down days are a normal part of any trip, and a good base makes them comfortable rather than frustrating.

Safety and avalanche

This is the most important vocabulary in the whole glossary. Heliskiing is backcountry skiing, which means avalanche awareness is central to every day. Reputable operators build their entire day around managing this risk, and our guide to avalanche safety for heliskiing goes deeper. Here are the essential terms.

• Transceiver or beacon — a small radio device every heliskier wears that continually transmits a signal. If someone is buried by an avalanche, the rest of the group switches their transceivers to search mode to locate the signal fast. It is the single most important piece of safety kit.
• Probe — a long, collapsible pole carried in every rucksack. Once a transceiver narrows down a buried skier's location, rescuers push the probe into the snow to pinpoint the exact spot and depth before digging.
• Shovel — a lightweight, collapsible snow shovel, the third piece of the core rescue trio. Once a buried skier is located and probed, the shovel is used to dig them out as quickly as possible.
• Avalanche airbag — a rucksack with an inflatable airbag that the wearer deploys by pulling a handle if caught in a slide. The extra volume helps keep the skier nearer the surface of a moving avalanche.
• Snowpack — the layered accumulation of snow on the mountain, built up over a season. Guides analyse the snowpack, and the weak layers within it, to judge how stable a slope is likely to be.
• Avalanche forecast — a daily assessment of avalanche danger for an area, rating the hazard and describing the problems in the snowpack. Guides use the forecast, alongside their own observations, to plan where it is safe to ski.
• IFMGA / UIAGM — the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations, whose certification (also known by its French acronym UIAGM) is the highest international qualification a mountain guide can hold. Viking Heliskiing's guides are IFMGA/UIAGM certified.
• Companion rescue — the practice of a group rescuing its own members in an avalanche, rather than waiting for outside help. Because professional rescue can be far away, companion rescue with transceiver, probe and shovel is the primary response, which is why everyone carries and knows how to use the kit.

Kit and equipment

Finally, the gear. Heliskiing rewards the right equipment, particularly skis designed to float in deep snow. You do not always need to own specialist kit, as it can often be hired, but knowing the terms helps you understand what you are riding. For a fuller treatment see our guides on the best skis for heliskiing and what to pack for heliskiing.

• Rocker — an upward curve in the tip, or tail, of a ski that lifts it off the snow. Rocker helps a ski rise and float in powder and makes it easier to turn, which is why powder-focused skis have plenty of it.
• Camber — the traditional downward arch under the middle of a ski that presses the edges into the snow for grip and pop on firm ground. Most modern powder skis blend camber underfoot with rocker at the tips.
• Waist width — the width of a ski at its narrowest point, underfoot, measured in millimetres. A wider waist gives more surface area and float in deep snow, which is why heliski skis are noticeably wider than piste skis.
• Powder skis — skis built specifically for deep, soft snow, with a wide waist and generous rocker so they plane on top of the powder rather than sinking. They are the natural choice for heliskiing.
• Skins — strips of grippy fabric that attach to the base of the skis, letting you climb uphill without sliding backwards. They are essential for ski touring and heli-assisted touring, and are peeled off before you ski down.

Putting the words into practice

Learning the language is the first step; using it on a real mountain is far more rewarding. The best way to internalise these terms is to hear them from a guide as you live them, watching a guide read the aspect of a slope, feeling the difference between powder and corn, and understanding exactly why you are wearing a transceiver as you drop into your first backcountry run. The jargon stops being jargon the moment it becomes your own experience.

If you are new to all of this, do not let the vocabulary put you off. Heliskiing is more accessible than it sounds, and a good operator will brief you thoroughly and match the terrain to your level. Our guide to heliskiing for beginners is the natural next read, and as the authorised booking agent for Viking Heliskiing in Iceland, we are always happy to talk you through the details. Have a term you would like explained, or a question about a trip? Just get in touch and we will reply within 12 hours to help you plan your first season on the Troll Peninsula.

Frequently asked questions