Redeem your Aeroplan points for turns in the biggest heliski tenure

Aeroplan points have always been great, but they just got a whole lot cooler. Bella Coola Heli Sports, a B.C. heliski company, recently signed an agreement with Aeroplan, an air miles reward program, which allows collectors to trade points for skiing or fishing with Bella Coola.

The exclusive offer in the heliski world applies to two programs: a $1000 gift certificate towards a three day or five day all inclusive heliski package in the Coast Range near the central coast town of Bella Coola; or a five day, guided fly fishing trip for one person on one of the world class salmon and steelhead rivers near the Bella Coola valley.

Bella Coola's snow cred runs deep. The heliskiing company hires excellent guides and runs small groups into some of the biggest and snowiest mountains in Canada. This winter they've formally amalgamated with their sister heli-ski company Pantheon to form the largest heliski tenure in North America and one of the largest in the world. There is now 1.1 million hectares, that's 2.64 million acres, of mountains that range from the rugged coast to the light powder of the Chilcotin.

The highest hut in Canada

This summer Larry Dolecki, an internationally certified guide, built a hut on the Lyell Icefield of the Canadian Rockies. Sitting on a nunatak, an exposed chunk of rock amid the ice, it's a lonely spot within reach of some of the longest ski lines in British Columbia.

The new hut is an outlier to the main lodges of Icefall Lodge, a backcountry ski touring operation north of Golden, B.C. and a member of the Backcountry Lodges of BC. I visited Icefall last year and the skiing was unreal. (This is a picture from the main lodge.) There's tons of variety and the alpine terrain is limitless. The tenure covers 200 square kilometres; it would take a couple days to traverse the entire tenure.

It's a demanding day trip to access the hut from Icefall Lodge. The hut sits at 2860m (9400'), making it one of the highest huts in B.C. and as far as we know the highest privately owned hut. But once you're there the five, 11,000 foot peaks of the Lyell's can be skied in a day. Dolecki, the lodge owner, says there are over a dozen glacier runs right out the door and monster 7000 foot runs that descend from the summits of the Lyells into Lyell Creek are possible. Now that's a leg burner. I can't wait to give it a go.