Heli boarding, for those not familiar is off-trail downhill snowboarding that is accessed by a helicopter, not a ski lift. Heli boarding is essentially about snowboarding in a natural, albeit highly selected environment without the effort or gear compromise required for hiking into these areas as in ski touring or ski mountaineering.
One of the coolest places to go heli boarding is located near Nelson in the Kootenay Rockies of British Columbia at a place called Snow Water. Snow Water offers 150,000 acres of the lightest and fluffiest snow on earth. In Snow Water, you can access the three ranges of the Selkirk Mountains: the Valhallas, the Bonnigtons and the Nelson Range.
If the weather is not good enough to go heli boarding, the swanky, ipod-equipped snowcat is always standing by to bring people in steep and deep tree trails, until the weather improves. This is why many of the best riders in the world come to Snow Water to make heli boarding and heli skiing films.