Starting from the McLean Creek Staging Area (50.88070, -114.68457), Zosia and I started skiing along the main ATV road going south.  We quickly crossed a bridge over McLean Creek, and after passing a couple of bends, we settled into a long straight section of road.  Although ATV traffic had mostly packed down the snow on the road, snow coverage was barely adequate for skiing, and we had to be constantly vigilant for rocks throughout the entire trip.  The snow quality was also less than stellar but not necessarily terrible either.  A little more than two kilometres south of the staging area, we crossed an east-west cut line in a large clearing before re-entering forest and heading in a more southeasterly direction.  About 1.5 kilometres further, we intersected another ATV road coming from the east.  We turned right and, shortly after, veered left to climb up a steeper hill which turned out to be our objective of the day.  The top of Helipad Hill is open and flat, and there are even some views of distant mountains.

After stopping for a short break on what we deemed to be the high point, Zosia and I tried descending a different road on the west side of Helipad Hill, but this road is steeper and narrower than the one we climbed up.  While Zosia managed to ski down most of this road, I was content to pick up my skis and just walk.  We soon regained the ATV road coming from the east, but instead of going back that way, we felt adventurous and headed westward hoping to find a different return route.  This entailed climbing over a forested ridge and another steep descent which necessitated some more walking, but we eventually hit a cut line descending gently in a northwesterly direction.  This cut line ultimately intersects the aforementioned east-west cut line, and it made the most sense for us to turn eastward here and close our loop at the large clearing we had passed earlier.  From there, we only had to dodge a few ATVs on our way back to the staging area to conclude the trip.

	Zosia skis southward along a well-used ATV road.
	Distant views beyond a stand of aspen trees help break up the monotony of the mostly forested approach road.
	Sonny looks like he is skiing a World Cup downhill race. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia herringbones up the final hill before the top.

The top of Helipad Hill is expectedly flat and open.

 

	Zosia and Sonny stand on the high point of Helipad Hill (1549 metres).
	Zosia tries to ski down a steeper road on the west side of Helipad Hill.
	Sonny is not above taking his skis off to walk down the steep road. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia follows a long cut line heading northwest.
	Zosia's alternate descent route joins up with the original approach road at this clearing.  On the horizon is McLean Hill.
	Zosia cruises back along the same ATV road used on the approach.
	A motorcyclist with a sidecar passes Zosia not far from the trailhead.
	Total Distance:  9.4 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  3 hours 13 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain:  118 metres GPX Data