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Skiers in the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s freeride program will get an extra boost in their training next season, as the program plans to offer daily heli-ski flights from the base of Rotarun Ski Area, west of Hailey.
SVSEF, which now operates Rotarun, purchased a Soviet-made Mil Mi-8 helicopter in December 2025. It had been owned by the Indian government, which purchased it from the Taliban in 2006, which captured it from Soviet forces in 1987. The aircraft was built in 1968 and has crashed seven times.
Students will also receive instruction in avalanche control, specifically how to use explosives to mitigate avalanche-prone slopes.
“This baby has amazing rocket capability,” said Janet Burns, a freeride coach with SVSEF. “Plus we’re going to be teaching the kids about dynamite — specifically how to chuck it out the doors of the chopper onto avalanche-prone slopes.”
Students will be taught how to rappel from the helicopter with their skis attached to their packs, which will be loaded with avalanche safety gear and explosives, as the hulking aircraft will not be able to land in deep snow.
Flights will be offered to the public on weekends when SVSEF is not using the helicopter for freeride competitions.
The chopper can hold more than a dozen students, four coaches and 80 boxes of dynamite.
The resilient aircraft saw significant action in the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s before it was captured by the Taliban in 1987. It was later reportedly used to transport poppy and cannabis harvests to Kabul from remote locations along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, specifically in the Hindu Kush mountain range. According to reports, the high-altitude ganja was “super dank.”
Burns said she found the helicopter for sale online in 2025 and immediately knew it was perfect.
“She has some issues, but who among us doesn’t?” Burns said while reviewing the helicopter’s rocket and dynamite inventory. “There’s a bit of a rust problem, a large family of rats is living in the nose of the aircraft, and one of the rotors is being held together by duct tape.
“But we’ll get her polished up — she flies better than you’d think.”
The Indian operators painted a new SVSEF logo on the side of the aircraft after the sale, though it remains surrounded by writing that nobody has been able to translate.
Most heli-ski flights will occur in aggressive terrain in the Deer Creek drainage north of Rotarun, with occasional longer flights into the western Smoky Mountains.
Residents of Rodeo Drive, where Rotarun Ski Area is located, are not happy about a massive helicopter conducting daily flights over their homes.
“That sucker is huge, loud and creates hurricane-force winds,” said Jerry Fubar, who lives across the street from Rotarun. “It nearly took the roof off my house yesterday and launched gravel straight into my living room windows, which are now chipped and cracked.
“I didn’t retire here to deal with the stress and noise of a Russian helicopter tearing the roof off my home and destroying all of my trees and windows.”
In response, SVSEF has offered Fubar two free flights and the opportunity to fire some rockets.
“Well, I’ve got to admit I am pretty excited about that,” Fubar said.
