ARKHYZ PACKAGE : ABUNDANT POWDER AND RUSSIAN OPULENCE
| € 8 000 | pre-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!
From 17 to 23 january
From 24 january to 30 january
From 31 january to 6 february
From 7 to 13 february
From 14 to 20 february
From 21 to 27 february
From 28 february to 6 march
From 7 to 13 march
From 14 to 20 march
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
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.
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.
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.
