ARKHYZ PACKAGE : ABUNDANT POWDER AND RUSSIAN OPULENCE

 € 7 900pre-book

1 group of 6 people with 2 guides – 5 days’ skiing with 11 hours’ flying time. Discover the Caucasus, in the heart of Eurasia, via a trip in which committing skiing in highly varied terrain is combined with nights spent in an historic dacha…

A heli-skiing paradise with precipitous slopes and abundant, light powder.

There is no need to travel halfway around the world to Alaska when you can come to this still secret place at the southern tip of Russia. Explore it with us and we will guide you through some magnificent skiing over alpine terrain, under the watchful eye of the Caucasus’ giant peaks.
But this trip offers more than great skiing; it also provides a taste of history, as evenings are spent at the Dacha Gorbachev, the second home of the USSR’s last president Mikhail Gorbachev.

POWDER

snow cover is outstanding for this latitude, due to the proximity of the Black and Caspian Seas.

MANOEUVRABILITY

our Ecureuil B3 helicopters are perfect for flying in the mountains and allow us to get to the steepest and most secretive slopes.

COMFORT

the Dacha GORBACHEV is steeped in history and extremely comfortable. What is more, our helicopter will pick us up and drop us off right in the dacha’s garden!

    vignette-DATES-arhyz
    From 12 to 18 january
    From 19 to 25 january
    From 26 january to 1st february
    From 2 to 8 february
    From 9 to 15 february
    From 16 to 22 february
    From 23 to 29 february
    From 1st march to 7 march
    From 8 to 14 march
    From 15 to 21 march
    INCLUDED
    5 nights at the Dacha Gorbachev and 1 night in a 3-star hotel at Myneralnye Vody (based on 2 people sharing a double room).
    Hotel-airport transfers
    Access to the sauna
    Breakfasts, picnics (local specialties) on flying days, lunches and dinners
    Flights in a Eurocopter Ecureuil B3 from the dacha
    Supervision by qualified mountain guides
    Safety equipment (ABS airbag rucksack, avalanche transceiver, probe, shovel)

    NOT INCLUDED
    Round trip air travel from your home to Moscow and from Moscow to Myneralnye Vody
    Personal equipment
    Drinks
    Lunches on non-flying days
    Personal expenditure
    Insurance (contact us for details)
    Tips

    SATURDAY
    If you are flying from Geneva, you can spend the night at the Novotel close to Moscow airport

    SUNDAY
    Flights from Paris to Moscow to Mineralnye Vody. One of our guides will meet you at the airport. Transfer to the hotel in our bus (3-hour drive). Check in to the hotel, welcoming drink and lunch.

    FROM MONDAY TO FRIDAY
    1st morning: safety and helicopter briefing, then heli-skiing.

    FRIDAY, LATE AFTERNOON
    Transfer from the hotel to Mineralnye Vody. Final dinner with a member of our team.

    SATURDAY
    Transfer to Mineralnye Vody airport. Flight home.

    POSSIBLE CHANGES TO THE ITINERARY
    The programme outlined above will be followed whenever possible. However, it may be necessary to modify this programme before departure or during your holiday for reasons beyond our control, such as poor weather, dangerous snow conditions, the political situation, flying conditions, flight delays, etc.
    A heli-skiing trip is an adventure in which not everything can be foreseen. Despite the care we take in preparing your trip and our extensive knowledge of the country and terrain, we can encounter difficulties. Heliski Russia will always do its best to make your trip unforgettable, but we must also ensure your safety. We will do everything we can to make sure you have a successful holiday and that you go home full of fantastic memories and the desire to ski with us again.

    The DACHA GORBACHEV, hidden amongst century-old pines, is an imposing but cosy country house.
    In fact, it was once a state residence that was used as a second home, or dacha in Russian, by the USSR’s last president, Mikhail Gorbachev. It was here that Gorbachev and the West German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, negotiated the reunification of Germany.

    The rooms are spacious and luxuriously decorated. The house has an old-fashioned charm and you can still feel the influence of the Soviet elite in every corner.
    Meals are prepared with loving attention by the dacha’s chef.
    Breakfasts are taken at the hotel.
    On heli-ski days, we provide picnic lunches based round a variety of ingredients. We also provide snacks (energy bars, etc.).

    Bottles of water will be available in the helicopter throughout the day.

    Evening meals are taken at the dacha.
    Meals are varied and based round mostly local ingredients, together with vegetables and dairy products, etc.
    Reasonable quality wine (from South Africa or Chile) is available, but the most classic drinks are beer, champagne and vodka.

     

    The helicopters will be single-turbine Eurocopter AS350B3 Ecureuils or Aérospatiale
SA 315B Lamas, which are regularly used for winching, transport, rescue and special operations and, more recently, for heli-skiing. These helicopters can carry five people (including the guide), as well as the pilot. They were all built recently and meet all current safety standards. They are carefully serviced and maintained according to international procedures.

    FLYING TIME
    Unlike classic heli-ski companies, who bill flying time based on the vertical descent skied, we base our calculations on the actual amount of flying time. This method is not only more transparent and more in line with the true cost, it gives us the opportunity to adapt our programme to conditions and therefore explore the best areas in which to ski.
    Hence, a good day will give us 7000 to 10,000 metres of vertical drop for around 2½ hours of flying time. The flying time indicated for each package is the average achieved on each trip. When the weather prevents us from flying all these hours, we will reimburse you the hours we do not fly.