The mature and naturally well-spaced forests lining the Monashee range are responsible for its reputation among CMH guests as a tree skiers’ paradise. Along with some of the best tree skiing on earth, the Monashees is also admired for its long, consistently steep-pitched runs. The Monashees offers perhaps the most challenging skiing of any of our areas, and is suitable only for experienced CMH Heli-Skiers who normally ski in the fastest group in other CMH areas. The Monashees’ reputation has been established because of the ski vision of two of the area’s first guides, Sepp Renner and Rudi Gertsch. Tree skiing has now become an imortant part of heli-skiing, far from where it began on the high summits and broad glaciers, but this transition was not because of a business decision. Renner and Gertsch started skiing the trees in the Monashees because it was possible in bad weather and accidentally found a whole new world of skiing. Not only was it more frequently stable enough to ski steeper terrain in the trees, but if they kept skiing the same slope during big storms and breaking up the slab development, they could continue skiing the popular slopes in safety even while the rest of the area was avalanching.

The high-class Monashees lodge built in 2003 in modern alpine style, is beautifully situated by the Columbia River in a secluded environment but can be reached by road.

Along with the usual 4 groups of 11 skiers, Monashees also accomodates private groups of 4 skiers. Operating independantly from our regular program, these private groups use their own private helicopter and 2 guides.