For the Love of Powder: Telluride Helitrax
By Jesse James McTigue
Conventional economics states that a business should fill a demand, target a broad market and sustain a profit. In 1982, when four friends started Telluride Helitrax, none of these were in play. But never underestimate the sheer will of a ski bum, especially when united with the sole purpose of skiing powder.
Mark “Franky” Frankmann, Mike Friedman, Dave Bush and Brian “Speed” Miller first tested the idea of heli-skiing in the San Juan Mountains in 1982 by hiring a pilot and aircraft they found in the Montrose yellow pages. Later that year, they leased a Thunderbird helicopter, partnered with a Montrose pilot and launched one of Colorado’s first helicopter-accessed guided backcountry ski operations.
Forty-three years later, Helitrax is still going strong. Matt Steen, the current program director and lead guide, is proud of its growth, evolution within the industry and financial health — not to mention its ability to deliver what many clients describe as one of the best days of their lives. Yet for Steen, the company’s history remains central, which is why he brought together three of the four original founders to share how it all began.
So the story goes…
It was the late 1970s, and four ski bums had sniffed out the newest ski scene in Colorado — landing in Telluride. They met working various jobs at Gorrono Ranch. Although Telluride had lift service, they rarely used it, opting for backcountry lines on Black Face Mountain, in Ophir and in Prospect Basin, before it was developed as part of the resort.
“There were no skins back then,” says Miller. “We were on cross-country skis. You know the skinny ones with tennis-shoe-style boots?”
Despite the shoddy equipment, the friends had so much fun skiing powder in the backcountry that they assumed others would want to experience it too. Friedman suggested they start a backcountry guiding company, Telluride School of Ski Mountaineering. But there were a few problems.
“Anybody who had the wherewithal to try and go backcountry skiing back then didn’t want or need a guide,” says Frankmann. “There was no real market for it, plus nobody came to Telluride then.”
Everything changed on a spring ski trip to Snowbird, Utah, when they saw helicopters from Powderbird Helicopter Skiing flying over the lifts. The founders all recall Friedman’s exact words: “We’ll do that. We’re actually the best people in the world at doing that, even though we’ve never done it before.”
The team may have relied on passion rather than a business plan, but they intuitively did a lot of things right. First, they won a permit from the forest service to access over 300 acres for heli-skiing, and then they got a mentor: Peter Lev. Lev was a pioneer heli-ski guide who developed the avalanche forecast systems for one of the most well-known heli-skiing companies in the world. His list of mountaineering accolades is long and distinguished.
“We weren’t intimidated by backcountry skiing, but we didn’t know jack about guiding,” Frankmann says. “In two days, he showed us how to guide people heli-skiing.”
During those early years, the four founders played a role in establishing backcountry lines and naming terrain. They recall charging heli-ski clients $25 for single drops, before evolving to a $200 package that offered a day of skiing with two to four runs.
“Very few people were good enough to do it,” says Frankmann. “It was hard to ski that many runs on skinny skis back then.”
Despite the community’s strong support, Helitrax was a business and needed to turn a profit. Without stronger financial backing, the operation struggled to weather the financial losses during low-snow years.
In 1998, the four founders agreed they needed to sell. They connected with the Herricks, a local family who was active in the guiding world and passionate about the outdoors.
“If you tried to start it today, it wouldn't be possible,” says Friedman. “We were naive and passionate enough to get this thing going. We’re lucky we were all here together at the right time with determination to make it successful to see a life after us.”
The original crew stayed on as guides for many years.
Since the ownership change in 1998, Helitrax has grown into a more sophisticated operation while keeping true to its roots. They’ve expanded into more skiable terrain (128,000 acres), and offer guided backcountry skiing, scenic helicopter tours and custom heli-packages for several hundred skiers each season.
Steen is especially proud of the guides, who he calls the “best in the industry” and of the company’s focus on safety. Helitrax is a founding member of Heli-Ski U.S. Association, a group that offers certifications for heli-ski operators with the highest degree of accountability and safety. The company also aids with area search and rescue and with avalanche forecasting and mitigation for county roads, state highways and private mining operations.
A lot has changed in the ski industry since 1982 — including wider skis, better avalanche forecasting, beacons, technology — but Helitrax remains grounded in its original values: They keep their groups small, work as a team, search for great lines, tell epic stories, mitigate avalanche danger and ski powder. But most importantly, they know these mountains well.
As Miller says with a grin, “A good day skiing in the alpine here is as good as skiing anywhere on the planet.”