For my 1700th review I dedicated to this experience of a life time! YOLO!
Great experience for our first time heli-skiing!
My friend and I wanted to take advantage of the amazing currency exchange rates this season, and comparing to the heli skiing operators in Colorado which was our other option, the prices here are cheaper with the exchange rate. I called this place several times to get information since it was our first time. Everytime I called the ladies that answered the phone were very nice and helpful. They talked us through what to expect, and was very upfront about the possibility of cancellation due to weather issues. In those events, they would provide a full refund.
We did our trip at the end of the season towards the middle of April, so spring conditions. Their office is right in the middle of the Whistler village, super convenient since our hotel was literally a 2 min walk. We checked in the morning off at their office, got to meet the other 2 groups and our guides. Then we boarded a bus which took us to the heli-pad where the helicopters are. Because it was late season, there were fewer people are those trips, there was only 3 of us in our group, and 4 in the other groups. We took the smaller helicopter to shuttle all 3 groups, actually surprisingly efficient. Our guide gave us a 30min briefing on basic avalanche training, strapped us into our location transceivers, and made sure we know how to use the items in our bags. We also got trained on how to get in and out of the helicopter safely without getting our head cut off. lol. The heli-pad room also contained powder skis and snowboards in case you didn't bring our own. I had my powder board, so I was all good. My friend did rent their powder skis and she said she was very happy with the quality and performance of those. We also had a photographer/videographer with us to take pictures and videos throughout our day and during each run. He did a great job, and we ended up purchasing the video and quite a few of the photos.
We opted for the 4 run package for our skill level, I felt like we could probably do more but due to the spring conditions, some of the runs were a bit more challenging due to the hardening of the snow. In fact, the snow conditions changed drastically throughout the day and each run was very different. Our guide was very nice, and helpful. We were taken to the mountain range right north of Whistler/blackcomb ski resort. I personally would opt for something much further since I've rode Whistler a gazillion times. The scenery is still very beautiful I would just like something completely different, meaning a complete different mountain range all together.
We did 3 runs, then took a break for lunch. I have to say I was very impressed with the lunch provided. We got HOT soup, really HOT! Needed that on a cold day. Also, our sandwiches were catered by Bigfoot Bistro, one of my favorite restaurants in Whistler. I honestly was expecting some shitty sandwich made with yucky white bread and some spam, but was pleasantly surprised with some very tasty sandwiches. We also got juice boxes and hot honey tea. The only interesting experience was of course no public bathroom in the mountain, so we had to make "yellow snow", super hilarious. I popped a squat behind the helicopter and became "one" with nature. lol.
After our runs, we were taken back to the helipad, and then back to Whistler village. Our driver was nice and dropped us off at our hotel so we could change out of our gear, and then we met up with the rest of the group at the lounge inside the Bearfoot Bistro, nice large room with a huge TV and a bar with couches. We got to sit there and watch the videos of us being silly and riding hard. Ordered food since Bearfoot had a great happy hour menu and chilled out on the couch. It was really fun to hangout with our guides and videographer afterwards.
I do agree with some of the other reviews that this is definitely catered to tourists, but sometimes for your first time, you need a bit more guidance and assistance with the runs, and to take it a bit slower. I think the next time we know what to expect and will probably do the package with more runs. Overall a very fun time and definitely experience of a lifetime! read more