About Valdez Heli-Ski Guides
Valdez Heli-Ski Guides is one of the pioneering heli-ski operations of the Chugach Mountains, founded in 1993 by World Extreme Skiing Champion Doug Coombs. The company operates from Tsaina Lodge at Mile 35 of the Richardson Highway on Thompson Pass — the snowiest place in Alaska and the terrain that made Valdez the world's heli-skiing capital.
Guests fly A-Star helicopters into a vast permit area of glaciated peaks, spines, and 3,500-foot sustained runs, with the maritime Chugach snowpack delivering the stable, deep powder the region is famous for. Multi-day packages combine guided heli-skiing with lodging and dining at Tsaina Lodge, and small groups are matched by ability so strong skiers and riders can push into steeper lines while intermediates build confidence on wide-open glacier runs. Down-day options and experienced avalanche-trained guides round out the program.
Three decades after Coombs first based his skiers at the Tsaina, the operation remains the standard-bearer for Thompson Pass heli-skiing. The combination of storied history, legendary terrain, and a purpose-built lodge at the base of the runs keeps drawing expert skiers from around the world back to Valdez every spring.
