Heli-skiing season starts in Rize with 19 international thrillseekers

RİZE

The heli-skiing season began on Jan. 17 in the Kaçkar Mountains, located in the Black Sea province of Rize.

In heli-skiing, adventurous skiers and snowboarders are dropped on the mountains’ peaks with choppers, finding the way on their own to descend through the untouched snow.

Some 370 international thrillseekers have applied to heli-ski in Rize, local officials told the Demirören News Agency.

The season, estimated to last for 12 weeks, started with the first crew of 19 tourists coming to the Çamlıhemşin district and finishing the adrenaline-filled event with no accident.

Apart from Turkey, heli-skiing is mostly practiced in Switzerland, the Himalayas, Georgia, Canada and France.

Exhilarating yet dangerous, athletes or adventurers who do heli-skiing are asked to exercise necessary precautions.

Skiers carry airbag backpacks that will serve the purpose of a tent in case of a possible avalanche. A GPS device in the bag sends a signal to the chopper, and even if a skier gets stuck under an avalanche, their location can be determined quite easily.

Moreover, the chopper is equipped to conveniently intervene, especially in the case of emergencies.