History

Passion, friendship, safety and a melting pot of different cultures!

This adventure started in the Caucasus mountains 17 years ago when four passionate skiers from two very different cultures met for the first time at the European Freeride Cup. Their mutual passion for skiing and their love of the Caucasus mountains formed the bond that led to this success story.

Since the beginning our “family” has grown internationally, but the ideals and goals that drove us in the first place: passion, friendship and safety, will always remain the same.

Nikolay Veselovskiy and Vitaly Ilinykh

Nikolay Veselovskiy and Vitaly Ilinykh — are the shareholders of «Vertikalny Mir».

Over 20 years ago, Nikolay and Vitaly began exploring the different areas of the former Soviet Union: Caucasus, Khibiny, Ural, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Baikal, Siberia, and Kamchatka. During this time they have explored thousands of kilometers of virgin powder runs in an area 1/6th the size of our planet.

These two passionate skiers have been the first Russians to organize and commercially run helicopter skiing in Russia

Bernd Schulke

Bernie lived in Chamonix. He was a well-known and loved personality in this small world of alpinists and skiers but his reputation didn’t stop there. Bernie was well known in many other ski areas of the world and met Nikolay and Vitaly during a freeride competition in the Caucasus’s. This meeting was the beginning of a long friendship and also the start of a new project: to introduce Helisking in Russia to the European skiers.

Bernie died in an avalanche on the south slopes of the Mt. Blanc area in April 2003.

Daniela Schmied

Daniela Schmied loves skiing and has practiced skiing at a high level in several disciplines. Daniela has made her home in the Chamonix valley amongst the mountains in which she loves to ski.

Involved in Vertikalny-Mir from the start, Daniela has dedicated lots of her time and energy to establishing and promoting Russian heli-skiing to the European market.