"Even if the skies are cloudy, the helicopter can fly lower through the valleys," says Devrient one night, over beers in a cozy Zermatt stübli. "We can even go into Italy, have spaghetti, have some skiing. No one can guarantee excellent skiing all of the time. But we can guarantee excellent traveling. Just flying around in a helicopter is fun."

But that's not quite why this trip is so cool.

Let's be frank. Though beautiful, Switzerland has long had a reputation for being dull. While France racked up urban-chicdom and five weeks of paid annual vacation, Switzerland's 7.2 million people were busy obsessing on cutlery, punctuality, and self-cleaning toilet seats. This nation of cheesemakers, barely the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined, nonetheless enjoys great geologic blessings: It contains some of the highest peaks in the Alps. Yet all the trains, huts, and gondolas the Swiss government has strung through these mountains—for 30 years, lifts and trams have been gobbling up about $280 million in taxpayer money—have done relatively little to give terra-bound travelers easy access to a wilderness that's as jagged and sheer as anything in Alaska. The tantalizing fact is that immense, snowy playgrounds sprawl just beyond cobblestone streets, and you can't get there.

"Those mountains are still super-remote and rugged. Just to get back into them, you need several days," says pro skier Chris Anthony, who runs similar trips, but without the flights, in Italy. "Helicopters in Switzerland open up all kinds of opportunities."

In other words, once the bird has lifted off, tiny Switzerland suddenly becomes big and exotic. Just make sure you're on time for the flights.