Heli hiking is a recreational activity in which a helicopter is used to access remote areas of the back country for hiking. These locations are typically inaccessible through other forms of transportation. Along with heli skiing, heli hiking is one of the most popular forms of heli tourism.Thirkell, K. (1999). View from the top. The Ottawa Citizen, October 2, K1. It falls within the broad category of amateur adventure or activity-based tourism.Shephard, Graham, and Sarah Evans. "Adventure tourism–hard decisions, soft options and home for tea: adventure on the hoof." Niche Tourism. Routledge, 2007. 210-218. It is a seasonal commercial backcountry industry, which also includes mountaineering and kayaking.
Heli hiking is a form of mountain recreation in the mountainous regions of New Zealand and the Bugaboos in Canada. It is a form of glacier tourism in locations including Glacier Bay National Park, Westland Tai Poutini National Park, and Ilulissat Icefjord.
History The first heli hiking tour took place in the summer of 1978 at the Cariboo Lodge, operated by Canadian Mountain Holidays. It was introduced as, and continues to be, the summer counterpart to heli skiing.
Marketing Heli hiking has been marketed toward women. It is popular among young female tourists in New Zealand.
The activity is advertised as a luxury tourist attraction.
Environmental impact and regulation Due to the disturbances caused by helicopter overflights, heli hiking is considered by authorities to be a possible cause of the decline of the mountain goat population in southeastern British Columbia and is opposed by the East Kootenay Environmental Society.Poole, K. G., and Ian Adams. "Mountain goat monitoring in Canadian Mountain Holidays' Bugaboo and Bobbie Burns heli-hiking areas, East Kootenay, September 2002." Unpublished report for Canadian Mountain Holidays, Cranbrook British Columbia (2002). It has also impacted British Columbia's Graham caribou population through displacement and interruption of migratory cycles.Culling, Diane E., and Brad A. Culling. SEASONAL HABITAT USE AND MOVEMENTS OF GRAHAM CARIBOU 2001 to 2003. http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wildlife/wsi/reports/4552_WSI_4552_RPT_2001-2003.PDF
In the North Cascades, heli hiking has been discouraged by the United States Forest Service.Burr, Eric. "Heli-Ski Survival Guide." https://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/objects/issw-1996-207-208.pdf However, there is still minimal regulation of heli hiking and other mountain recreation activities for environmental protection.
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