Helicopter ski service to open in northern Sierra

Every ski season, as I drive along Interstate 80 toward Lake Tahoe, I wonder what it would be like to ski down those dramatic, anonymous snow-covered peaks I pass driving by Donner Summit. This winter, many of those remote peaks will be within reach.

Pacific Crest Heli-Guides is launching Lake Tahoe's first new helicopter ski operation since the 1970s, giving skiers and snowboarders access to more than 100,000 acres of privately held land - more than four times the combined terrain of every ski resort around Lake Tahoe. Most of the terrain will be between Donner and the Sierra Buttes along the Pacific Crest near Highway 49. The operation, partnering with HeliTahoe, will operate trips daily from Truckee airport, weather permitting, from Dec. 15 to March 15.

"We're really excited about bringing people to runs that have never been skied before," said Dave "Happy" Rinalta, owner-operator of Pacific Crest Heli-Guides. "We'll be exploring new terrain and even naming the runs."

The guides have been doing reconnaissance trips over the past couple of years, checking out the landing spots and the descents, identifying the prime spots for adventure.

Rinalta has 18 years of experience as a helicopter ski guide in Alaska, as well as eight years owning and operating Alaska Backcountry Adventures. Pacific Crest ski guides will be pulled from Rinalta's Alaska company, as well as from his group of guides who have been taking patrons on Pacific Crest's backcountry snowcat tours around Lake Tahoe.

Trips start at $899, which buys 1.2 hours of helicopter time, enough for at least 20,000 vertical feet of skiing - the equivalent of 10 good runs or rides. Four skiers or snowboarders will share a helicopter and a guide for their trip, with a maximum of 16 people traveling per day. Runs can be focused on short and steep runs, or long and winding ones, based on skiers' preferences.

Meanwhile, at the eastern edge of Nevada - near Elko, in the small town of Lamoille - Ruby Mountain Heli-Experience begins its 34th season of operations. The Ruby folks offer all-inclusive multiday helicopter ski trips, including three-day stays in their atmospheric lodge, home-cooked meals and equipment rentals. I went a couple of seasons ago, and the helicopter ride alone was a thrill, before I even started to snowboard down acre after acre of untracked snow, a permanent grin and a spray of light powder on my face.

Ruby's guides were knowledgeable about the terrain and highly focused on safety as they probed each slope before descent. When bad weather precluded flights, we rode snowcats up to remote ridges, stopping in a backcountry yurt for a hot chocolate. After each great day riding over, on and down the slopes, our group returned to gather around the communal tables in the lodge and trade stories and plans for continued helicopter skiing adventures.

Bill Fink last wrote for Travel on Vail skiing. E-mail comments to travel@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page M - 6 of the San Francisco Chronicle