About AlpX

AlpX Expeditions is a new division of Blackcomb Helicopters that is focused specifically on adventure tourism programs. Heli Biking & Ski Touring are our flagship programs, but we also offer several other adventures including Heli Hiking, Heli Picnic/Paddleboarding, Heli Fishing and more…

Tyax Adventures falls under the umbrella of AlpX and based in the South Chilcotin Mountain Range of the Bridge River Valley is also a member of the AlpX family, and offers float plane access mountain biking/hiking for multi-day overnight hut based trips as well as day trips both guided and self-guided.

Heli Biking was a thing just a short few years ago in Whistler. The trails that riders were being dropped at were unsanctioned and were accessed by charter flight. When these trails became increasingly popular, Blackcomb Helicopters was asked by the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development to discontinue access until a more sustainable long term option was in place.

Following a lengthy tenure application process, Blackcomb Helicopters aka AlpX is excited to be offering this option to riders again through a sustainably developed and operated program.

Blackcomb Helicopters worked with AeroDesign (now DART) to develop the first ever production bike rack approved by Transport Canada and the FAA for commercial use. This provides a system that is both safe for passengers and bikes. We have come a long way from the days of long-lining a cluster of bikes together where you were lucky to start your ride with both brake levers!

We are a team of aviation professionals who are passionate about providing remote mountain access and a variety of aviation and related services to our customers. While our Sea-to-Sky base network supports our tourism, search-and-rescue, heli-skiing, and heli-biking activities, we also mobilize for work outside our home areas such as utility, mining, film, and fire-fighting when we can add value. Generally, we add the most value when the work demands an expert team and the highest standard of equipment. These significant qualities matter, and we maintain a strong portfolio of customers who echo these demands.

With our customers – one size does not fit all. With this differentiated approach comes additional complexity and our operational environments require deep technical knowledge. For much of what we do, our pilots need specialized skills and significant experience. Our maintenance operation and safety systems are designed to support a high level of technical expertise and complex operational capabilities. Over 50% of our work requires a formal pre-qualification process of some kind such as a custom safety audit. We are heavily invested in specialized work methods (hydro, SAR) and innovative equipment and technology (bike racks, communications systems). 

As part of the McLean Group, we are able to take advantage of group management talent (finance, HR, legal, communications) and common customers such as film productions (Vancouver Film Studios) and remote communications companies (Signal Systems). Like other McLean Group companies, we also put a high priority on giving back through community engagement and charitable activities. We actively support our people getting involved in community service and our charitable committee (Blackcomb Helicopters Employee Endowment) is very active. Over the past five years, we have donated over $1M to charities in our base communities. Based on what we learned in making Vancouver Film Studios the first major Canadian studio to go carbon neutral, we have applied this knowledge to Blackcomb Helicopters beginning with our tourism operations. We are more than the sum of our parts and we care deeply about the communities in which we operate.

The quality of our people is central to our success and we put a lot of energy and focus into recruiting and training. We aspire to be an employer where helicopter professionals may not always be able to start their careers with us, but they certainly strive to end up with us. This desire to be a part of something special translates into a positive company culture which delivers proficient helicopter services and great experiences for our customers. 

The trail design was key in helping to control risk. We went a step further and hired two highly experienced and local builders and their teams to plan, survey, and construct our network of trails with safety, aesthetics, flow, and enjoyment in mind. Trail design is an art and to do it well and safely our builders used their breadth of experience and their keen eye to benefit from natural terrain features to create a world-class product while carefully minimizing hazards for our riders.

We also augment program safety by having an experienced biking guide sweep the trails and act as a rescue resource in the event of a rider injury. We train our guiding staff in-house and annually at the beginning of the biking season. Our guides have professional certifications and a great deal of experience leading groups as well as looking after groups in urban to remote biking settings. In this way, our guides help to manage exposure with respect to risk. We ask that riders arrive with good quality protective gear which also helps to manage rider vulnerability in these environments.

Managing risk also requires that we have the backup resources to evacuate injured riders. We have access to a capability that can engage helicopter evacuation when conditions permit, terrestrial support, qualified and trained staff, and first aid equipment to help manage most emergency situations.

Blackcomb Helicopters is the leading helicopter touring and utilities company in the Pacific Northwest. In operation for over 30 years, we offer helicopter tourism and adventure activitiesas well as a wide range of utility and civil services including search-and-rescue, heli-skiing, medevac for our partner Whistler-Blackcomb, utility, mining, film, and fire-fighting. Blackcomb Helicopters has bases in Whistler, Pemberton, Squamish, Sechelt, Lillooet, the Bridge River Valley, YVR and Calgary to serve Western Canada and beyond.

Blackcomb Helicopters is proud to be a 100% Carbon Neutral Company.

Visit blackcombhelicopters.com

Recognized as the expert guides to the South Chilcotin and pioneers of float plane accessed multi-day backcountry mountain travel, Tyax Adventures has been sharing the magic of British Columbia’s South Chilcotin mountains with guests for 20 years. Our expert and service focused staff will guide you on a journey of a lifetime with opportunity including single day or multi-day adventures of hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and flight-seeing/charters made only more unique by a stay in one of our 5 historic and fully serviced backcountry cabins and camps. Committed to safety, sustainability and fun, our adventures are certain to inspire and create memories that will last a lifetime.

In 2022, Tyax Adventures was acquired Blackcomb Helicopters and joined the newly created AlpX family to continue offering incredible heli adventures in British Columbia.

Tyax Adventures founder Dale Douglas added: “Creating and building Tyax Adventures has been a great journey for myself and our family. When Jane and I started thinking of finding the next owner, it was important to us that they shared the commitment of responsible, sustainable operations and also would carry on the key community relationships and Indigenous partnerships that have been so critical to our success in the Bridge River Valley. Blackcomb Helicopters clearly shares these values and is the right owner to take Tyax Adventures into the future.”

Visit tyaxadventures.com