Those who have heli-skied before would have you think that it's only for the likes of James Bond. Don't believe them. If you can get down a blue-groomed run without denting your ego, then there's a heli-ski run for you. Imagine avoiding those chairlift queues, and stepping off your chartered chopper onto untracked powder.
Kiwi snow is above the tree line, so New Zealand has lots of clear slopes on which to try this exciting sport for the first time (Southern Lakes Heliski, www.southernlakesheliski.co.nz, offers two introductory runs near Queenstown). Things are more difficult in Europe, however. It's illegal to...