On a recent weekday at the Powdah Mountain Lodge, a handful of out-of-state visitors are getting antsy. There’s thick, wet snow falling outside and low clouds, meaning no helicopter flying today for Alaska Heliskiing. Guests here have to find their own entertainment. “I hate it,” said Ed Irons, a 60-year-old electrical engineer from Las Vegas […]
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Heliport decision under scrutiny
Residents of Mile 27 of the Haines Highway and borough officials shared clashing accounts of how a controversial heliport permit was granted ahead of a planned meeting to review the conditions of the permit next week. The rehearing was originally scheduled for June 27, but was postponed to July 11. The hearing will start at 6 p.m. […]
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Heliport granted conditional use permit amid opposition
The Haines Borough Planning Commission voted 6-1 to approve a conditional use permit for a heliport at a 26 Mile airport amid opposition from neighbors concerned about helicopter noise at their homes. George Campbell applied for the permit after the borough manager in February issued a cease-and-desist order for heliport operations at his 26-Mile airport, Airkat Airpark. Campbell had contracted with […]
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Heliski season soon off to early start
Haines’ heliski season lifts off this weekend, featuring one operator’s earliest start in years and an expected return to stability for an industry affected by covid and last-minute regulatory changes. Alaska Heliskiing begins guiding Feb. 4, a couple weeks earlier than usual. “This is our longest season we’ve ever had. This is the earliest start we’ve had,” […]
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Assembly grants heliski tour permit to fourth operator
After months of debate, the Haines Borough Assembly granted a heliski tour permit to a fourth operator in the Chilkat Valley. The Jan. 11 decision came three weeks after the assembly, in a 4-2 vote, adopted changes to the borough’s heliski code, raising a cap on tour permits for three years and replacing regulations on skier days with a limit on […]
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2021 sees rebuilding, recovery from disaster, pandemic
Recovery and rebuilding were the watchwords of 2021 as residents navigated life in Haines among the wreckage left by the December storms and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Also in this year’s news, the borough secured a $20 million grant to repair the Lutak Dock, a new borough manager was hired, incidents of bear and human interactions, including […]
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Heliski focus shifts to limiting helicopters
As the Haines Borough Assembly weighs a draft ordinance that would eliminate a cap on heliski tour permits in the borough, a new idea has piqued the interest of assembly members. The borough could limit the number of helicopters per operator and abolish its current restriction on skier days. The idea, which emerged in a version of the ordinance […]
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Heliski code hearing reflects sharp divide
Committee-of-the-whole meeting scheduled for Nov. 29 Twenty seven people, including a Scottish expedition guide with National Geographic, commented at a Tuesday hearing on a draft ordinance that would remove Haines Borough’s limit on heliski tour permits for a year. Fourteen people spoke in favor of the ordinance. Thirteen spoke against it. While testimonies mostly advanced familiar arguments […]
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Officials hear pitches on heliski code
At a Tuesday meeting, heliski industry representatives and public commenters made their cases for or against changing borough code to allow a fourth heliski operator. The borough’s government affairs and services committee decided to wait until its Sept. 7 meeting to make a recommendation to the borough assembly. The debate at the meeting fell along familiar lines: Current operators […]