It was only a matter of time before helibiking was offered in the Alps. For a long time now, skiers have been dropping off at mountain landing sites to enjoy untracked powder snow without having to climb up mountain slopes for hours. While helicopters have long been used for mountain biking in Veltlin, the time had come in Switzerland in 2018: two companies in Valais had acquired a helicopter bikerack and offered flights to suitable mountain landing sites.

The reaction from environmentalists was not long in coming. Even before the first take-off, "Mountain Wilderness" protested with a press release stating, among other things: "The increasing consumer mentality in mountain sports is fatal. It's all about gaining as many vertical meters as quickly as possible. Nature is degenerating into a meaningless backdrop." From an environmental perspective, it is not only the high CO₂ emissions that are critical, but above all the helicopter noise that affects entire valley communities.

A good two years later, nothing has changed in the position of "Mountain Wilderness", although Managing Director Maren Kern admits that there has not yet been a real boom in helibiking. She refers to the numbers of flights to mountain landing sites reported by the Federal Statistical Office: "The number of flights to places where mountain bikers can be dropped off and during the period in which this is possible is increasing, in some cases massively." She herself qualifies this by saying that the statistics only record the total of all flights but not their purpose, i.e. whether they were for helibiking or another tourist activity. However, landings with mountain bikes outside of the official landing sites have also been documented, Kern explains, referring to the advertising image from Air Zermatt, which shows bikers and helicopters on a mountain that is not permitted for tourist flights.

The pioneer that first drew the ire of environmental organizations is Héli Alpes AG in Sion. Jean-Daniel Berthod, pilot and member of the management, says: "We ride three to five helibike flights per season. This service is still in its infancy." There are hardly any more transfers at competitor Air Zermatt. Marketing manager Sara Fux explains: "Given the lack of regularity, we don't keep any statistics on flights operated. In the summer months, this service accounts for less than one percent of the approximately 1,000 tourist flights, and even less over the whole year." The Helibike offer is a niche product and there has been no noticeable growth so far.

The growth potential of helibiking is limited, at least geographically, as only the 40 official mountain landing sites above 1100 meters above sea level may be used for commercial purposes in Switzerland. Of these, only a handful are suitable for mountain bikers. This may be because the descent would lead over glaciers with too many crevasses or would not be rideable even for the most experienced freeriders. The mountain landing sites of Arolla in Val d'Hérens and Alphubel and Unterrothorn, both in the Zermatt area, are regularly visited by bikers from the air. Only from Unterrothorn are bikers allowed to descend without a mountain guide. And you can also get there by cable car. Sara Fux suspects that some mountain bikers took the helicopter during the overhaul of this cable car in the summers of 2018 and 2019. At 80 francs per person, this offer is temptingly cheap. At 390 francs and more, the other flights are a lot more expensive.

Image damage

Even if there are only a handful of helicopter flights that drop mountain bikers off in the Valais Alps, they trigger emotions. The unmistakable and unmistakable sound of the rotors draws attention to the flying machine. When it finally comes to rest, the passengers casually get off, unload their bikes from the stand and dash off. The enemy image of the ruthless mountain biker comes to mind, who sounds out an entire valley for his pleasure, scaring off wild animals and releasing considerable amounts of CO₂ into the atmosphere.

Jean-Daniel Berthod points out that the environmental impact of a helicopter is less than many people think. Compared to a high-horsepower shuttle vehicle, which takes hours to cover the distance and altitude difference that a helicopter flies in ten minutes, the air route is in a good position. The Mobility Impact calculator shows that the helicopter has 6.9 times the CO₂ emissions of an average car traveling from the same starting point to the same destination. A whole day of shuttling in Finale therefore pollutes the atmosphere more than a helicopter flight to the Valais Alps. According to Maren Kern, scaring off wild animals is more serious. "What comes from the air always causes much greater stress than what moves on the ground."

Even greater than the environmental impact of helibiking is the damage to the mountain bike community's reputation. Dave Spielmann, mountain bike guide and deputy head of guide training at Swiss Cycling, points out: "Helibiking is certainly not exactly conducive to the image of mountain bikers among non-bikers at the moment. I think it has a fundamentally negative connotation for them and they don't see any point in mountain bikers being flown up mountains." The Swiss Alpine Club is even more resolute. Benno Steiner, landscape protection specialist, states: "The SAC stands for non-motorized mountain sports and authentic nature experiences in the Alps." The Alpine Club also believes that coexistence on shared hiking trails is endangered by helibiking.

Resistance to helibiking in Switzerland was at its strongest when Héli Alpes and Air Zermatt announced their offers. Since then, the dust has settled. Not only is the number of mountain bikers who have ever been flown up a mountain manageable. Compared to other helicopter flights, the number of mountain biker transfers is also negligible. The Arolla landing site, for example, was approached a total of 536 times in 2018. According to Jean-Daniel Berthod, a maximum of five of these were for helibike services.

The proportion of helibikers in Zermatt is also no greater. A helicopter touched down on the Unterrothorn a total of 259 times in 2018. Bikes were unloaded less than ten times. Air Zermatt dropped off pedestrians who were setting off on a hike after a panoramic flight from the Unterrothorn much more frequently. According to statistics from the Federal Office of Civil Aviation, the 40 mountain landing sites in Switzerland were approached around 14,000 times in 2018. Mountain bikers were responsible for around one thousandth of these. Helibiking is therefore not suitable as a scapegoat - but it doesn't improve the reputation of bikers either.

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_{Note: This report first appeared in the print magazine of Ride in 2020.}