(Above) Dining room at Alaska Rendezvous Guides' Lodge, Rick and friends relax before a day of skiing.

((Above) View of a few mountains from the lodge.

(Above) Rick and buddies are trained to crouch safely for the helicopter to land.

(Above) The helicopter can land on the head of a pin--or very small ridge about the size of a tabletop.

(Above) The couloir on the right is one of the steepest Rick skied--almost 1,200 vertical feet.  To give perspective, there are actually 2 people poised on the top of the ridge on the far right.

(Above) Now we're looking down Blue Corn couloir where several skiers wait below in the very far distance.

(Above) Rick is in good form as well as good humor for his run down the mountain.

(Above) Tracks on the right show that this beautiful ridge is one of the few that Rick and group skied more than once.

(Above) Rick and Ruthie are flying up to start their next run--she's gritting her teeth and pretending to relax as they take off.  You can notice the pipe in front of both Rick and Ruthie.  It's their Avalung, just in case they need to breathe for 30 minutes under an avalanche.

(Above) The helicopter flies off to pick up the next group.

(Above) Rick dusts off the snow and tries to keep his spirits up after his face plant in the waist deep snow.

(Above) Really, truly the snow is waist deep.  Hard skiing for everyone.

(Above) Another magnificent descent down thousands of vertical feet.  Can you find the two dots?  They are David (Rick's friend) and their guide.

(Above) The helicopter carries another group to their next amazing descent.

(Above) Called the Ice Palace, this is not a sculpture but a natural glacier.

(Above) A group quietly reflects the leap they are about to take as they perch above an incredibly steep slope.

(Above) Linny stops to wait for the rest of the skiers to make the descent.  She is 61, has had 3 knee surgeries and a hip replaced but continues to challenge herself just for fun.

(Above) Rick is too pooped to move.  But he's had a great day and week heli-skiing.