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photo: Randy Lincks

Olympian Efforts: Whistler's Other Games — Heli-Ski Rodeo

There are all sorts of ways to prove who’s king of the heli-pad: most money dropped, most days skied, and most runs made each offers instant notoriety in any number of quarters. Whistler Heli-skiing, a day operation with one of the largest territories in the province (432,000 acres) has plenty of tales of clients vying for medal status. For instance, in an operation where three-, four-, or six-run packages are the norm, someone once skied an astounding 26 runs, racking up 75,000-plus feet of vertical in a single day — a record that has remained unbroken for 12 years. There are clients who have shown up every year for 20 years, some skiing a week or more at a go, and it’s rumored at least one of them went every day for an entire season. Rarely — though usually at least once a year — a chopper gets rented privately for a day, setting back the client $7,285.