The prized heli chip - ticket to vertical

With my second coffee in hand, I stroll across the yard towards headquarters. The Menace is on the step chewing the fat with Dave the Wave- head guide extraordinaire - and a few others. I give The Wave the easy going handshake and ask whats going on. He looks up at the sun, closes his eyes and smiles. The Menace, always Mr. Energy, jumps up Ready to get the Goods? I think to myself, he means lets go find endless fast flying turns of the deep white steep fluffy stuff,; top to bottom, no stopping! I smile and chuckle, my definition of the goods is a little different. I want to capture his goods on film, but I know that inevitably translates into a lot of setup, planning, patience, good light - and a lot of luck. Yup, I have known The Menace for a long time. This man is ultra high energy, enthusiastic and always ready for a sick ski - the crazier the better, will he wait for my camera?

Dave asks me what I've got going. I have my own crew, I want to shoot and do at least a two chipper, if not three. He nods his head, and enters my name on the board, Keoki, Crew #6 - posers. I chuckle realizing that is the signal to whoever chooses to guide us that we will be moving slow, real slow. How long before we fly? Oh , I dont know maybe three or four hours, - check back around five. Great, that should be enough time to rally the boys.

Each crew is made up of five people and a guide. Each flight costs every rider one precious heli poker chip. At $65 a pop this outfit is the cheapest helicopter operation in the world. The setup here is simple. If you want to take a fixed wing ( a plane with skids) it is only $45, but the landing options are more restrictive. Show up with five people, sign a waiver and they will fly you anywhere you want to go. Sort of. If you dont have a complete group of five, then you can either pitch in and pay for the empty seat or find some one willing to fill it. Then they will drop you off anywhere the pilot and guide are comfortable to land. The farther away you want to go, the more chips it costs. Going deep as the Menace puts it, is the ultimate. Since it hasn't snowed in over a week, that is where you have to go to get away from the past week of tracks. When you go deep you decide on a three, four or even five chipper. This means ABA will spend the extra fuel to take you all the way out to where other groups aren't flying. From there, you get short hops on the way back. This is clearly the way to go ... if you have a lot of chips, that is. The easier way out are the single chippers. These are known as the road hits and make up the soaring peaks along the roadside. When you invest in a single chipper they take you on only one flight and you ski back down to the road where a prearranged ride awaits or the ever familiar hitching thumb goes to work.

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