Greenland
You can heli-ski in Greenland and there are even a few ski lifts, but this “exploratory adventure” spurns both, in favour of pursuing unclimbed summits and unskied descents on the barely inhabited east coast.
Members of the 17-night expedition will fly via Reykjavik to Kulusuk then head 25 miles north in two open boats to set up a remote coastal base camp. From there, it’s a case of spotting suitable peaks and ski touring up to the summits, potentially using the boats to scout along the coastline or packing tents into polar pulks (sleds) for longer excursions inland.
Departs May 12 2022; £5,400 per person not including flights; jagged-globe.co.uk
Nunavut
For decades after the Austrian-born mountaineer Hans Gmoser pioneered heli-skiing in the 1960s, snow seekers followed him west to British Columbia in search of the deepest snow and, latterly, the smartest lodges. But in recent years adventurous skiers have been pushing into evermore remote ranges in search of pristine snow and fresh descents.
Heli-ski operations have popped up from Albania to Kamchatka but the farthest-flung of all (and most northerly) is Weber Arctic’s Baffin Base Camp. Guests fly 1,750 miles north from Ottawa to the Inuit hamlet of Clyde River, then ride snowmobiles to the camp, a gathering of geodesic dome tents surrounded by the glaciers and granite peaks of the Arctic Cordillera. Groups of no more than eight use the helicopter or snowcat to access runs that range from long flowing glaciers to expert-only couloirs. As well as skiing slopes few others have seen, let alone skied, the trip offers a chance to experience Inuit culture and to spot arctic wildlife, including polar bears.
Trips run in April and May; a week costs from C$175,000 (£101,000) for eight people; weberarctic.com
Georgia
There seems to be growing interest in heading east in search of ski adventures, be it to ski tour in Siberia, heli-ski in far eastern Turkey or try brand new resorts in central Asia. But in the après-ski bars of Chamonix and St Anton, the most discussed destination right now is Georgia, tipped as an untapped source of serious mountains and reliable snow, often at a relatively good price.
Mountain Tracks, part of the venerable Ski Club of Great Britain, has an eight-day adventure in the Svaneti range starting in Kutaisi, Georgia’s second city. Between nights in family-run guesthouses in small villages, skiers will climb peaks higher than 3,000m, sometimes touring from the road or via the lifts in small ski areas where off-piste adventurers are, for now at least, a rarity.
Departs February 26 2022, from £1,695; mountaintracks.co.uk
Hokkaido
Japan’s northern island is rightly famous for the quality and quantity of its snow, and a pilgrimage there will be high on any committed skier’s lifetime tick list. Designed to help visitors make the most of their visits, Mabey Ski is offering flexible powder-hunting road trips that seek out the best snow across Hokkaido.
Local guides lead guests to remote resorts or on ski tours up volcanic peaks, with evenings spent soaking in onsens and staying in traditional ryokans.
A week starts at £1,850 per person; mabeyski.com
Switzerland
Say “Haute Route” and most people think of the celebrated ski tour between Chamonix and Zermatt. While that offers great views, it can get busy and the skiing can be a bit tame — with long glacial traverses rather than descents to get the adrenalin pumping.
The much less travelled Urner Haute Route, by way of contrast, is sometimes called the “skier’s haute route”, with typical days involving long climbs up south-facing slopes, then descents of steep, powder-filled north faces. Usually tackled in five days, the route runs between Andermatt and Engelberg (both huge off-piste draws in themselves), but there are numerous variations.
Local experts Andermatt Guides has a group tour departing March 21 2022, from SFr1,264 (£997) per person and can also arrange private trips. andermatt-guides.ch
Five ski adventures for 2021-22 - Financial Times
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