A Weekend for the Girls

Plus a day for Heli Skiing

By Willa O’Connor
  HeliSki Day photo 2.jpg (152315 bytes)

Another FIRST! Where else in the US (or world?) can you get two days of improving your technique, followed by a session of helicopter skiing? Where? The women’s Education College at Mission Ridge, with an optional Monday in the “Methow Alps”.

 This is the special offering of Divisional Clinician and Mountain Guide Kathy Sackett, who with her husband Randy has operated North Cascades Heli-Skiing for a dozen years. A Tacoma native, Kathy has an impressive skiing background, having taught at Crystal Mountain for Jack Nagel, and at Sun Valley and Alta, and has been a guide on Mt. Rainier. Since coming to Wintrhop 15 years ago, she has headed the Loup Loup Ski School and had a career as a dental hygienist. Her husband had done engineering work for various local developments and their two children have grown up (almost) racing in the shadow of the tall mountains. 

Corinne Hill and Deanna Carpenter can give you firsthand accounts of the Year 2000 Women’s College and the helicopter add-on. 

“What we liked about it,” says Corinne, “is that after two days together, Kathy already knew just how we skied, and tailored the 10,000 vertical feet of heli-skiing to our level.” This was OK with the three other gals in the all female heli group, also a first for the company. 

The customers were all impressed with how easy the short fat skis worked in the deep snow. They also liked the careful safety training, complete with beepers and how to use them. 

We are fortunate in the Northwest to have a heli skiing and boarding facility that attracts customers from all over. As their brochure says, “The North Cascades of Washington are the most glaciated peaks in the Lower 48…Within our 300,000 acre permit area on the Okanogan National Forest, we can access a vast variety of runs starting at altitudes of 7,500 to 9,000 feet and offering 1,500 to 4,000 vertical foot drops.


The six girls in the heli-group are, left to right, Dana Bracht, Corinne Hill, Kathy Sackett (instructor and co-owner), Deanna Carpenter, Bernie Nova, and Linda Stephan.

 Starting on their heli-ski run in the North Cascades are, left to right, Deanna Carpenter, Linda Stephan, Corinne Hill and Kathy Sackett, instructor and co-owner of the touring company.