Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but at more than 8,000 feet in the air, Ryan Doty鈥檚 lunch is often the biggest for him 鈥� at least in elevation.

Revelstoke鈥檚 atmosphere in the winter could be defined by a few things: snow, warm pubs, and the whir of helicopter blades cutting the crisp mountain air from sunrise to sunset.

In 2014, the New York Times described Revelstoke as 鈥渉ome to some of the planet鈥檚 best heli-skiing鈥� 鈥� it was true then and it has only grown.

With more than four separate outlets in town, heli-skiing business is as big as the mountains they fly to. Behind every article, picture or video of sultry slopes accessed by heli-skiing are dedicated 鈥� and underrated 鈥� pilots navigating treacherous skies to drop riders on top of the world. Steven Cot茅 and Ryan Doty are pilots for Canadian Mountain Holidays and Selkirk Tangiers Heli-Skiing, respectively.

鈥淚鈥檓 one of those people that I cherish my sleep. So, I set my alarm for as late as possible,鈥� Doty says with a laugh.

After savouring the last few minutes in his bed, Doty is up at 6 a.m., in his truck, and out to the Hillcrest Hotel for Selkirk Tangiers鈥� morning meeting. The meetings cover everything from weather and snow conditions to passenger weight (which factors into fuel calculations) and ensuring the all-important half mile of visibility.

Doty says he鈥檚 鈥渘ot a big breakfast guy,鈥� so after the morning meeting, he wolfs down a quick granola bar and heads out to inspect the aircraft, and chats with the engineers about any maintenance done or planned. Between 9 and 10 a.m., the first round of groups are usually ready to head up, so he jumps in his helicopter and 鈥渮ips鈥� to the staging area.

Steven Cot茅鈥檚 morning is similar. Up at 6 a.m. and down to the Regent Hotel, where Canadian Mountain Holidays is based, for a brief meeting to go over the day鈥檚 plan. Cot茅 likes his breakfast, so he sits in at the hotel, which provides his meal at 7 a.m. Before long, he heads to the hangar and reviews his aircraft before going to one of the staging areas, like the one near the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club.

The two men start their day in similar fashion to so many jobs 鈥� an early rise, a commute and a morning meeting. The difference in their job is that they spend their workday operating a mechanical marvel in some of the most adverse conditions and terrain in the world, making them among the best in their field.

Marc Ledwidge, helicopter rescue specialist, has a history working in the mountains. In his career, he worked as a mountain guide, search and rescue manager for Parks Canada, and a representative for Canada with the International Commission for Alpine Rescue (ICAR). Helicopters and their pilots always factored closely into Ledwidge鈥檚 work. He says that when it comes to pilots, 鈥渨e鈥檙e not all created equal.鈥�

There鈥檚 a hierarchy in flying. Fixed wing (airplanes) piloting would be considered hard, standard helicopter piloting might be considered harder, and helicopter piloting in the mountains is often considered the hardest. Heli-ski piloting is in a field of its own.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e dealing with terrain 鈥� steep terrain 鈥� and difficult terrain, and obstacles. And then very complicated winds, and wind flows. That takes experience for a pilot,鈥� Ledwidge says.

On top of the operational challenges of controlling the aircraft, heli-ski pilots must also be proficient and efficient mathematicians. While taking off and landing comes with experience, fuel calculations are based on group weight, distance travelled, and altitude.

鈥淭hese helicopters are so big and expensive as it is, and they burn a massive amount of fuel,鈥� Doty says.

Doty compared the helicopter he flies to a Bell UH-1N, more commonly referred to as a 鈥渉uey鈥� used in the Vietnam war, which burns around 600 lbs of fuel per hour.

鈥淚鈥檓 close to 700 pounds. I think it鈥檚 two barrels an hour,鈥� Cot茅 says.

Doty summarized the daily challenges that he, Cot茅, and other heli-ski pilots must consider.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e always pushing the limits. You鈥檙e trying to land up as high as you can in the whitest conditions imaginable. Most of the time it鈥檚 windy, and the higher up you go the helicopter鈥檚 performance decreases. So, you have all these things going against you and you really have to be switched on,鈥� Doty says.

With the challenge of operating and managing fuel, Cot茅 and Doty say that heli-ski pilots always have multiple back-plans.

鈥淲e call it our back door like you never want to get yourself in a situation you can鈥檛 get out of,鈥� Doty says.

The passengers in the helicopters are the final variable in the piloting equation, and the hardest to predict. To mitigate the risk that passengers pose, heli-skiers are given an extensive safety briefing before heading out.

Doty got involved as a heli-ski pilot almost 10 years ago, which was 10 years after he first moved to Revelstoke. Having learned to fly at 18, Doty headed north to Yellowknife to get more hours. He avoided heli-ski piloting initially because he鈥檇 heard 鈥渉ow difficult to fly in it can be, and how dangerous it can be.鈥� He didn鈥檛 start as a heli-ski pilot until he had over 6,000 hours and he says it took him more than three years after that to feel comfortable.

Flight hours are vital to a helicopter pilot. Out of school, pilots might have roughly 100 flight hours, but most commercial outlets require over 2,000.

鈥淭hat really is the bare minimum because that鈥檚 potentially only like four- or five-years鈥� experience from flight school,鈥� Ledwidge says.

Cot茅 started flying helicopters in his early 20s, but 鈥� like Doty 鈥� he didn鈥檛 get into heli-ski piloting for a while. He鈥檚 lived and worked in Revelstoke as pilot since 1995 but didn鈥檛 start working as a heli-ski pilot until the last 20 years.

As a pilot with Canadian Mountain Holidays, Cot茅 is among the ranks of an organization that is alleged to have pioneered heli-skiing.

The origins of heli-skiing are debated depending on the source you check. Some credit Mike Wiegele, founder of Mike Wiegele Heli-Skiing Resort in Blue River, as the first person to charter a helicopter to untapped mountain ski terrain. Several sources, however, credit Hans Gmoser, founder of Canadian Mountain Holidays, as being the first person to have started heli-skiing. In the mid 1960s, Gmoser and his business partner were ferrying skiers into the Bugaboos where they would then hike to the ski areas. Over time, the system evolved to dropping them at the peaks, and CMH remained a prominent outlet in the industry.

Selkirk Tangiers Heli-Skiing has its own storied history, involving a fourth-generation Swiss mountain guide. Peter Schlunegger brought heli-skiing to the Revelstoke area in the late 1970s. The early groups started in Rogers Pass at Albert Canyon, where they camped in RVs off the highway.

Selkirk partnered with Revelstoke Mountain Resort to host the YETI Natural Selection Revelstoke snowboarding competition in 2023. The unique event takes place exclusively in the backcountry, so most equipment and all the 24 professional competitors will rely on heli-ski pilots to access the event.

Natural Selection is just the latest credit for an industry that has become synonymous with the Revelstoke region.

Before Natural Selection reaches Revelstoke, Doty and Cot茅 will have already flown more than 400 hours in the season, taking off and landing 80 to 100 times per day.

The work takes a toll on the two men, who both said it takes a day or two into their days off to settle down. Still, they come back to the work for their own reasons. Doty spoke about the days he gets to sit up with the group he鈥檚 flying with and have some lunch and look out over the valley.

鈥淎ll the March blue sky days make it worthwhile,鈥� Doty says.

Cot茅 echoed Doty鈥檚 reasons, adding that he appreciates the challenge of the days that aren鈥檛 clear 鈥� when the snow is coming down, but visibility is still good, and the fuel levels are okay, and there鈥檚 not much wind.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e kind of having fun even in those days 鈥� although it鈥檚 not bluebird 鈥� everything鈥檚 working well,鈥� he says.

While those who don鈥檛 fly may view the pilots with awe, Cot茅 and Doty have their own description of their work.

鈥淲e鈥檙e making dreams come true as safely as we can,鈥� Doty says with a smile.

鈥淲e鈥檙e just taxi drivers,鈥� Cot茅 adds with a laugh.

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