Although this particular machine is not suitable for heli-ski it appears Bulgaria may be coming one step closer to the most extreme ski adventure possible. We spoke with Daniel Glascoe, owner of White Peaks Hotel who plans to launch White Peaks Heli Tours early in the New Year.

Daniel plans to offer visitors the opportunity to fly around the Pirin National Park (it is illegal to fly within the park itself) for sightseeing, photo tours and even combined options for “Extreme Days” which will combine a heli-transfer to his own snow mobile race track in the Razlog Valley.

Companies will also have the option to advertise on huge silk banners which can be towed behind the Enstrom 480T. This presents a serious marketing opportunity for those firms wishing to communicate their message to literally everyone in Bansko and with events such as the FIS World Cup in February predicted to have a worldwide viewing audience of over 500 million people; the benefits are fairly obvious for companies with a decent marketing budget.

But what about the environment?

When we wrote our first article about heli-ski coming to Bulgaria, several users of this site commented that the environmental impact would outweigh any other benefits. When we put the questions to Daniel he was quick to point out that he has no intention of having his pilots breaking the law by flying into the Pirin National Park itself.

“We aren’t allowed to do it and we won’t do it”, Daniel said “Unless of course we are called upon by local authorities to assist in search and rescue operations”, something that the Enstrom helicopter is licenced to perform here in Bulgaria.

“We have even taken our neighbours into account when we were planning this”, Daniel continued. “We have located the HLS on the outskirts of Bansko [close to Daniels hotel – White Peaks] so we don’t get complaints about the noise or any disruption to other property owners. We have even informed the local herdsmen about the arrival of the choppers so their herds and flocks are kept at a distance that won’t ‘spook’ them”.

How much will it cost?

Probably the first question any one reading this is thinking.

Although Daniel would not commit to exact prices for tours and advertising, he was able to speculate that a 15 minute flight would be around €250 to €300 for three passengers.

“Running a helicopter is not cheap” explained Daniel. “With fuel prices going up all the time we have to keep our margins as low as possible to attract as many people and companies as possible. We are planning on releasing prices in the next week or two but we want to offer people better value for money by combining heli-tours with accommodation at White Peaks and our snow mobile operation just outside Razlog. We have even been approached by a couple of night clubs in Bansko who have already asked if they can combine heli-tours with their advertising flights so they can offer their own customers the chance to experience a helicopter flight at the same time. We don’t see a problem with that”.

It appears Daniel may be onto a winner with his new venture. Bansko has been evolving every year into what is fast becoming a very sophisticated and modern international ski resort. Additional services such as the White Peaks Heli Tours can only help to promote Bansko as a ski destination and give new visitors to Bulgaria just another reason why they should consider the resort for their vacations.

We will keep users posted of developments with White Peaks Heli Tours as The Ski & Snowboard Guide to Bulgaria has been chosen by Daniel as a media partner for future operations.