For some Orange County executives, life’s too short for waiting in lift lines and dodging inexperienced daredevils on skis and snowboards.
Man-made moguls won’t cut it, either. And don’t even mention the slushy, artificial snow.
These executives are after the untrodden parts of the world’s best skiing areas―the powder-dusted slopes, the pristine scenery―as well as the camaraderie of skilled snow aficionados who share their passion for wandering off the beaten path.
“You don’t have any groomed runs, you don’t have very many tracks, and sometimes there’s no track, which is just so fun,” said Bruce Feuchter, a senior corporate securities attorney at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth in Newport Beach.
“You are out in the wilderness, and you feel it. And it’s quiet, other than wind and birds.”
Oftentimes the other noise you’ll hear is deal-making, executives tell the Business Journal.
The close quarters shared by participants over a multiday trip lend themselves to business talk when the ski boots come off at the end of a long day.
Experts Only
To reach the wilderness, the executives opt for heli- or cat-skiing, each named after the mode of transportation used to get to the top of the run.
Both are group activities with guides helping navigate the avalanche-prone terrains safely. Participants are matched based on their skiing abilities, although most are comfortable with black diamond runs.
Each skier wears a location-tracking beacon and is trained to help find others in case an avalanche sweeps them.
“It’s not financially viable to do all this by yourself, but more importantly, it’s not safe,” said Daniel Neukomm, chairman and chief executive at Irvine-based retail manufacturer and marketer La Jolla Group, adding that guides from the heli- or cat-ski operators he takes trips with are “very well-versed in mountain safety, including snowpack stability and wilderness emergency response.”
Neukomm grew up skiing in New England and went to the University of Vermont so that he could compete in events hosted by the International Freeskiers and Snowboarders Association. The competitions are held at remote locations where start and finish gates are the only trail markers.
Today, Neukomm’s focus is on the action sports industry, shepherding the growth of La Jolla Group’s three brands: O’Neill, Spiritual Gangster and Hang Ten.
He manages to devote 10 to 25 days to backcountry skiing each year, frequenting slopes in Iceland, Colorado and Baldface Mountain in British Columbia.
“It’s one of the few activities that I can participate in that are exciting and distracting enough to make me think about something other than work.”
Camaraderie
The trips, aside from excitement, provide an opportunity to bond with fellow participants.
“La Jolla Group has a strategic partnership with Spiritual Gangster, which is a Los Angeles-based yoga brand, and its founder is someone who I became close friends with on backcountry ski trips,” Neukomm said. “In fact, the final terms of our deal with them were inked on our ski trip in Iceland.”
Dan Williams, chief revenue officer at 3 Day Blinds LLC in Irvine, learned to ski when he was 3. He frequents the groomed slopes with his wife and children, but also makes time to heli- and cat-ski with friends and business associates.
The trips, which range in price from $1,200 to $5,000 per day and that can last a week, typically include lodging and dining near the slopes.
“After skiing, we get around and talk,” Williams said. “And even if we’re not in the same industry, it seems to be a great forum to discuss how are they investing for their kids’ college, what do they hear about the market, and where things are going.”
“You get insights into different industries, and it is really beneficial to be in a social environment with people that you trust,” Williams said. “I think being outside at a destination, [the conversation] is less guarded.”
A couple of venture capitalists Feuchter worked with in Orange County introduced him to cat-skiing at the Great Northern in British Columbia. The group of about 20 people, including other guests and staff members, traveled to the location.
“And that’s who you see for a whole week―very intimate,” he said, adding that even if one would want to split from the group, there’s not much of a night life around. “You get to know the people that you’re with.”
Helicopter vs. Snowcat
A helicopter can reach the higher and more rugged spots on a snow-packed mountain with ease, while a truck-sized snowcat usually holds more people and “has to find its way back down,” Feuchter said.
Both tend to attract a specific type of skier.
“Helicopter skiing is clearly for Type A people, and everyone’s going fast” Feuchter said. “It was fun, but it’s hard—the better shape you’re in, the better.”
Feuchter recalled a heli-run he skied with his brother, a former ski instructor who quit his job because “he couldn’t ski enough.”
“We landed on this rock outcropping, and the far end of it was about a 187-foot vertical drop,” he said. “The helicopter hung over both sides of that outcropping, so when you climbed out you then had to crawl up with your skis into the bowl, and then you ski down―and it was a big, big bowl.”
“We get to the bottom, I am just huffing and puffing, and my brother looks at me and goes, ‘Man that was effortless.’ You can just guess how that feels.”
That was probably not the first time a family member outshined Feuchter on the slopes. His late cousin and free-skiing pioneer Shane McConkey in 1996 founded Denver-based International Freeskiers and Snowboarders Association, which put on the races Neukomm was competing in college. McConkey, who combined wingsuit flying with skiing in backcountry, died in 2009 while jumping off a cliff in Italy’s Dolomite Mountains. He was inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2011.
Feuchter, at least once a year, meets in Whistler with McConkey’s half-brother George and his father, Jim, “who is now 92, [and] still skis when he gets around to getting up there―unbelievable.”
The crowd that flocks to cat-skiing often prefers a more leisurely pace.
One of Williams’ favorite spots is Park City Powder Cats, a 43,000-acre terrain in the Uinta Mountains about 35 minutes from Park City in Utah.
“It’s [a] private land, so when you get in the cat and go skiing, it could be two weeks after a snowfall, and you don’t see other ski tracks,” he said. “The pace is really nice, too, because it’s a little slower. I’ve been heli-skiing before, and the pace is very fast. As soon as you’re done with your run, you’re getting picked up and tossed on the top of another ridge … In terms of the social aspect of it, you’re [riding] in an enclosed, bus-like vehicle, so we can have conversations, and you can have snacks and drink the hot cocoa, and that you cannot do in a helicopter.”
Staying Safe
With a snowcat’s limited ability to scale the steeper ridges, the vehicle is driven in areas with a lower chance of avalanche. Meanwhile, heli-skiing guides are continuously “testing the snow,” and “telling you how long to wait until the next guy goes, where to go, where to stop,” Feuchter said.
“We didn’t have as much of that on the snowcat trip.”
For Brendan Sullivan, chief operations officer at Newport Beach-based wealth adviser Bahnsen Group, navigating the mountains safely is part of the thrill.
“The best part of any backcountry experience is of course the powder!” he said in an email.
“After that, having to use your skills in the understanding of snow science and slope aspects” is key, according to Sullivan, who cited issues like wind, temperatures, and snow types among issues that need to be considered when skiing through uncharted terrains.
Sullivan, a wrestler in college, initially opted for “snowboarding over skiing, as the first few days are fairly tough. However, the learning curve to get good is much shorter than skiing.”
He moved to Sun Valley, Idaho, where he also became proficient in snowboarding in all types of conditions and terrains, including powder and tree skiing through the woods.
“I took backcountry snowboarding so seriously that I completed several avalanche training certifications,” he wrote. “I remember for Christmas I bought my brothers snow shovels, as we teamed up together frequently. It is great that I have a shovel. However, if I were ever the one buried due to an avalanche my shovel does not do them any good in rescuing me!”
His “mental preparation” for the trip includes “research around where we will be from a mountain aspect” and “visualization around control and pace,” while physical preparation consists of “sled pulling, wall stands, core strength, and of course, a clean diet to shed those extra pounds.”
“Truthfully, no matter what I do, the leg burn experience are always there,” Sullivan wrote.
Currency Boost
Heli-skiing began in 1966 in Canada when Hans Gmoser, owner of Canadian Mountain Holidays, began using helicopters to transport skiers to ridges near Banff in Alberta, one of the country’s main ski areas. Bill Janss, owner of Sun Valley Resort in Idaho, followed suit the same year.
Today, Gmoser’s CMH is the world’s largest heli-ski operation and part of Denver-based Alterra Mountain Co., which operates 14 ski resorts, including local favorites Mammoth Mountain and Big Bear Mountain Resort.
The “vast majority” of Alterra’s heli-ski enthusiasts come from Southern California, and the number of guests has gone up 36% since 2012, according to Chief Marketing Officer Erik Forsell.
He’s based in Alterra’s regional office in Irvine, which is close to the home of several Orange County action-sports brands that make winter-focused products and surf and skate apparel, including Costa Mesa-based Vans Inc. and Boardriders in Huntington Beach.
Forsell attributes growth in attendance partially to currency fluctuations favoring the U.S. dollar—it’s been on a somewhat steady climb since 2012, when it was on par with its Canadian counterpart.
“As an American, you’re getting like 25% to 30% off your heli trip to British Columbia,” he said. “But the biggest reason it’s growing is because we’re in what’s called the experience economy … I think it used to be about what you could buy, what you could own, and now it’s kind of about what you are going to do.”
“Heli isn’t necessarily cheap, but we’re finding that a lot of people are saving and really want that type of experience,” Forsell said.
“We’re finding that the wealthier youth are choosing to visit CMH,” he said. “Our average age is around 49 or so, which is pretty young for that industry.”
