North Cascade Heli Skiing operates from Mazama, Washington, providing helicopter access to backcountry skiing terrain in the North Cascades. It works within a 300,000-acre permit area in the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests under authorization from the United States Forest Service. Unlike a conventional lift-served ski resort, it is defined by skiing in a vast, remote section of national forest, where the experience depends on mountain conditions and undeveloped terrain rather than resort buildings, lifts, or groomed slopes.