Let your dreams dance for a moment.
Imagine going from full send to full soak so fast you barely have time to process it. One minute you’re buckling cold boots beside a helicopter. A few minutes later, you’re sinking into steaming water, watching snow settle on the trees like it has nowhere better to be.
“It feels like I’m letting out the big secret,” says Blizzard Tecnica athlete and Steep Shots and Pillow Drops coach Carter McMillan. “The Kootenays are one of the more slept-on heli-skiing experiences out there.”
He’s not wrong. The region has long been famous for those in-the-know for storm cycles and featherlight powder. Yet it still flies under the radar compared to louder names on the ski map. That, you’ll come to find, is exactly what makes it special.
LEARN MORE: CMH Kootenay
CMH Kootenay: in-town heli-skiing with serious backcountry terrain
Let’s set the scene. CMH Kootenay is based in Nakusp, a small village in the, you guessed it, Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia.
When you head here for a heli-skiing trip, you stay in-town at the Lodge at Arrow Lakes. It smacks of a “drive up, kick back” kind of vibe, a home base with a lively lounge and local character.
That in-town setup is part of the appeal. “Staying in Nakusp may not have the same ultra-luxury feel as the remote fly-in lodges,” Carter says, “but that’s a huge part of the character. It’s unpretentious, authentic BC mountain culture at its core.”
Translation: You get the freedom and flexibility of a town base, then fly into the nearby backcountry each day to ski terrain that has long animated barstool legends.
A “deep, pillowed playground” across the Selkirks and Monashees
If the Kootenays (known locally as the Koots) have a calling card, it’s this: consistent fall-line skiing, perfectly spaced trees and playful terrain served across a far-reaching tenure that straddles both the Selkirk and Monashee mountain ranges.
Getting granular with CMH Kootenay’s terrain, you’re looking at 75% trees and 25% alpine, with 290+ runs spread across 1,155 sq. km / 446 sq. mi. With that kind of scale, the skiing is bound to feel fresh, day after day.
Carter puts it more simply:
“The Koots also have maybe the best tree skiing on planet Earth. If you know, you know. but you don’t know until ya go!
Why you need to try Kootenay powder and tree skiing
The reason Kootenay loyalists keep coming back isn’t just that it snows, though that’s practically a given in this region. It’s all about how the terrain skis and rides when it does.
“When the never-ending storm cycles here do their thing, it’s pretty magical,” Carter says. “Most of my deepest days ever on skis have been out of CMH Kootenays.”
This is a place that’s known to be a deep, pillowed playground with all kinds of lines through the trees, and enough variety to step into alpine and subalpine when conditions line up.
And because there are nearly 300 run options, guides can keep things feeling uncrowded, even in adverse conditions, by selecting lineups based on snow, weather and what the mountains are offering on any given day.
Evenings in Nakusp are local, lively and ridiculously easy to love
If you’ve only ever done destination ski trips where evenings blur into “hotel lobby + one restaurant,” Nakusp will surprise you in just about every way, and then some.
Carter laughs when he describes what happens after a day of skiing and riding: “Ask anyone who’s wandered over to the Leland Hotel next door to the lodge and accidentally been drawn into a rowdy night of pool and dancing… The locals here are more than friendly!”
Meanwhile, your base at the Lodge at Arrow Lakes has its own gravitational pull. An attached tavern that’s a favourite local watering hole, plus the comforts that matter after a big day, including chef-prepared meals and snacks, a lounge and on-site amenities like massages for those weary legs. You’ve got to be ready for the next day of heli-skiing, after all.
From helicopter to hot springs in a blink
Now for the part Carter can’t stop talking about because, honestly, neither can anyone who’s done it.
“It takes like three minutes from being in the back of a helicopter in cold ski boots to jumping into steaming natural hot spring waters… celebrating your best day ever skiing.”
Nakusp’s nearby hot springs sit up Hot Springs Road in the Kuskanax Valley. Talk about a classic Kootenay reset button for the legs and the nervous system.
This is one of those small details that ends up defining the week. Ski hard. Laugh harder. Soak. Repeat.
Steep Shots & Pillow Drops: progression-minded heli-skiing, built for this terrain
Kootenay isn’t just a great place to enjoy the powdery goodness. It also can be an incredible place to level up your skiing and riding.
CMH Kootenay is the home base for Steep Shots & Pillow Drops, a freeride-style program designed for strong skiers and riders who want coaching, guidance and the right terrain to chase progression.
Carter has watched the appetite for this style grow: “Some guests aren’t looking for the traditional open glacier/high alpine powder experience. They’re strong skiers who like to jump, and want those ski-movie type of lines. Think pillows, steeps, couloirs and a whole bunch of more rowdy options.”
What makes it work here is the combination of playful natural features and a program built to support progression in an encouraging, guided environment. No terrain feature is mandatory, and groups are tailored to the level of the group.
LEARN MORE: Steep Shots & Pillow Drops
Who CMH Kootenay is perfect for
If you’re trying to decide whether the Koots are your kind of week, here’s the simplest way to frame it:
- You love tree skiing—and want terrain that keeps delivering it.
- In-town flexibility (drive yourself, wander, soak in some lovely natural hot springs, repeat).
- You like your luxury a little less “velvet rope,” a little more authentic BC mountain town culture.
- You’re progression-minded and curious about pillows, steeps and freeride-style terrain with the right support.
The best way to understand it is to go
Carter says it best: “I could go on… but the best way to describe Nakusp, the Kootenays, and why this CMH operation is so special, is to just go yourself and see.”
Because once you’ve skied fall-line trees in blower snow, then gone from spinning rotors to hot springs like it’s the most normal thing in the world, you’ll get why the people who know, keep coming back. If you’re ready to explore one of heli-skiing’s hidden gems, we’re ready to help.
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