Freeride skiing effectively began when the world's best skiers gathered in Valdez, Alaska for the World Extreme Skiing Championships (WESC) in 1991. This first of its kind skiing competition was a catalyst for the evolution of freeride skiing, and for heliskiing in Alaska. H2O Guides Founder Dean Cummings competed in the inaugural WESC and went on to pioneer Alaska heli skiing with Doug Coombs. Dean and Doug started the first heli skiing companies in Alaska based on the top down terrain management protocols they developed to safely descend Alaska's massively glaciated Chugach Mountains surrounding Valdez.

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