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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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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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TAB backs draft heliski ordinance

The Haines Borough Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) voted 4-1 on Oct. 28 to support the borough assembly’s proposed ordinance removing a limit on heliksi tour permits for one year. The assembly introduced the ordinance on Oct. 26. There will be two public hearings, on Nov. 9 and Dec. 14., before the assembly votes on the code change. […]

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Assembly introduces law to axe heliski permit cap for a year

The Haines Borough Assembly introduced an ordinance on Tuesday that would remove the cap on heliski operators in the borough for only one year. The ordinance also would require the borough manager to allocate skier days earlier in the year; it would mandate that operators pay the $5-per-skier-day fee before the season, instead of after, as current code allows; […]

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Assembly inches toward removing heliski limit

Haines Borough Mayor Douglas Olerud cast a tie-breaking vote Tuesday to draft an ordinance to change borough code and eliminate the current limit on heliski permits. The vote followed a lengthy debate among assembly members—as well as several weeks of committee meetings and years of input from the public—about how the borough should regulate the heliski industry. Citing the need to […]

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Committee sends question of fourth heliski permit to assembly

The Government Affairs and Services (GAS) Committee on Friday deferred action on whether to expand Haines’ limit on heliski operator permits from three to four. The committee sent the issue to the full assembly. Committee members initially seemed split. Assemblymember Caitie Kirby suggested pressing pause on the decision until winter before making a recommendation to the assembly. […]