Skiing my duvet

Skiing down to the helicopter

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What prompted me to stop in Blue River (population: 434)? It is home to one of the biggest heli-skiing operations in North America. Now heli-skiing is justifiably seen as a rather exclusive pastime, although most of the people we are with are not famous or glamorous, but generally successful entrepreneurs who love powder. Why? Skiing deep powder is like skiing your duvet, promising soft landings and giving you the sensation of floating on the 'fat' skis which the Austrian owner of the operation Mike Wiegele pioneered in the 1980s. After my powder practice a fortnight ago, I feel the weightlessness that the first men on the moon must have felt. Until, that is, my legs begin to give after the fifth descent, landing me in the deep stuff. Then I realise that powder, again just like my duvet in the morning, is very difficult to get out of.