The center of the 350 landing gear is fairly well back from where the pilot sits. Had he landed a bit more forward on the apex, he would have been sitting out in the middle of nowhere, precariously balancing his ship. Alternatively, turning 90 degrees and setting down would have made it very difficult for the crew to egress - much less access the baggage compartment.
Digging the toes in like that seems a clever idea - the best solution, and one that I'm not sure even I would have thought of, lowlander than I am. A little forward cyclic and the ship stays "pinned" in place. Not to mention the fact that the 350 has about the shortest distance from the front of the fuselage out to the edge of the rotor disk of any helo I've flown.
Got to admire those mountain flying guys for their ingenuity.