This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Wasatch Powderbird Guides said it booked 53 percent more reservations this recently completed season than in winter 2009-10, in part because of increased operations in the Park City area.
The 38-year-old heliskiing company, based at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, attributed much of the increase to the resumption of its relationship with Canyons Resort outside of Park City.
Powderbird marketing manager Nicole Mangino said the company began flying out of Canyons midway through the 2009-10 season after having an on-again, off-again relationship since the 1980s.
Flights out of the Park City area increased this past winter, as did those out of Snowbird, she added. That accounted for the increased reservations and contributed to a 46 percent rise in Powderbird merchandise sales.
Mangino also noted that Powderbird helicopters flew customers to backcountry skiing and boarding locations on 54 days this season, but were shut down 57 days by snowstorms, high winds or heavy cloud cover. That was "on par for an average fly-day-to-no-fly-day season ratio," she said.
With Utah's ski season drawing to a close, Powderbird is conducting heliskiing trips in Greenland and booking clients for the 2011-12 season.
Mike Gorrell