A storm the night before and a sunny morning the day of our trip. The skiing was a absolutely blast. What was disappointing was having to ski down one at a time and then waiting for everyone else to ski to the guides designated spot.
When you ski with friends, you should expect to ski as a group of conditions allow. Plus if conditions do not allow anything but single file, you shouldn’t be going that day at all! Check with your company what they allow prior to spending your hard earned money.

Editor's note: all mechanized backcountry operators will necessitate that riders go one at a time in the alpine in many conditions, and it's only when conditions are incredibly stable that skiing all at once is possible. See our video here

This was a fantastic time. I signed up for 1 day and then it was so much fun I did a second. The guides were awesome. The tracks were totally fresh. Great helicopter pilot. Would totally recommend. See our video here

This is my first ever review and I am not normally a complainer.
I do understand that in a situation such as heliskiing, safety is the primary concern.

That being said, my experience with Whistler Heliskiing was a huge disappointment.
Most of the staff was very friendly except for the guide that I was assigned. I was booked to go up on Tuesday, but fog and weather conditions did not permit the helicopters to fly. The guide that I was assigned on this day was very friendly and seemed to really care about the product he was offering. The fact that we could not fly this day is understandable and as I said safety is paramount.

So Whistler allowed me to come back the following day. Wednesday I was assigned to a different group with a different guide. He did not seem to really care if the folks in his group had a good time or not. The helicopters were allowed to take off this morning. The helicopter ride and experience was fantastic. The skiing was mediocre at best. I signed up for the elite experience assuming I would be skiing with advanced skiers, this was not the case. The terrain was for skiers that spend most of their day on blue squares, the powder was ok, but not what I expected. I understand that the weather conditions are not controlled by the heliskiing company or guides.

I paid for the 4 run package with the understanding that we would get in 3 runs, have lunch, go back up for our 4th run and have the option for a 5th. I was willing to go up for the 5th. Our group as a whole, voted to forego lunch because all wanted to get the 5 runs in. We presented this option to the guide who ignored our request. We got our 3 runs completed, stopped for lunch which took nearly an hour, cutting into our skiing time. After lunch we boarded the helicopter thinking that we were heading back up for the last run, instead, without any communication to the group, we ended up back at the heliport. The guide didn't relay any of this information to us, just sorry you'll be refunded for not getting in the last run. He didn't seem to care about his customers at all.

Boy was I upset. I didn't sign of for a lousy lunch in the back country, I wanted to ski.

All of this aside, we head back to the village for an apres ski beer and viewing of the video. My anger really kicked in when I saw video of other groups getting in all of their runs in beautiful powder and sunshine. Some even got their extra run in. I understand that the weather conditions vary and cannot be controlled. But communication between guides could have helped get us to better conditions. Again, our guide did not seem to care that our experience was mediocre.

Whistler Heliskiing advertised an amazing experience in the backcountry and I got a day of intermediate level skiing. This may very well have been a great experience for intermediate skiers looking for the tourist experience. I was under the impression I would be doing some more hardcore backcountry skiing in deep powder with some pretty steep terrain. The glacier/bowl skiing at the resort was more fun and challenging.

Whistler Heliskiing is designed for the tourist looking for the Disney World experience of being catered to and pampered. Not for the hardcore skier looking for the once in a lifetime experience of backcountry skiing.

I will not be back and now have to look forward to booking a private heliskiing experience elsewhere.

I did go back to the office show my displeasure and they gave me a free t-shirt. woohoo!
The response from the staff at the office appeared to be rehearsed and something they tell all of their disappointed guests. "Sorry, we can't control the weather and safety is the most important thing." I understand all of that, but after seeing other groups getting the experience of a lifetime the same time I am being greatly disappointed upset me a little.

Oh and while I am complaining I paid for the 4 run package costing $810 USD. The refund I received was $95 dollars, my math isn't perfect but since I didn't receive 25% of what I originally paid for I should have been refunded $202.

The money is not the issue here. This was my first and possibly my only chance at heliskiing and I was greatly disappointed.

Visited January 2016 See our video here

This was great for first time heli experience because I could book a single day and they would allow cancellation up to 24 hours in advance with no penalty.

Had a great experience. The guide did not shy away from challenging terrain and kept the pace up. Plenty of fresh tracks for everyone.

Only negative is the snow conditions were good but powder here is heavy. I would consider revisiting if I was here and conditions were better but I would not come here solely to heli ski.

See our video here

Whistler heli is a solid operator. They are my 1st experience with a Canadian operator and I visited them for a day (10 runs) at the end of a week in Whistler.

It ended up costing around 1,300 aussie $ for 10 runs (we did extra).

The available terrain is pretty extensive. If you know the Whistler / Pemberton area then you know what I am talking about. Most of their terrain is to the north and west of Whistler and Pemberton and is shown very well on their website. Some of it is glaciated and most is alpine, we only got a little into the trees, on our last run. I would estimate the most vertical we got was about 1,000 metres, which is pretty good.

The day we went was about 3 or 4 days after the last storm, but it had warmed up in the previous day or 2, so south faces were baked and firm, but the guides were pretty good in finding us shady, north faces that were nice and fluffy and soft. It's often hard to trust what the people in the office are telling you what the conditions are like vs what they are really like, but these guys were fairly honest.

The safety briefings were pretty good, the usual beacon search etc, but like most heli operators they don't insist everyone carry a shovel and probe (I certainly do), something I find remarkably odd. Everyone going in the backcountry should have these items and know how to use them. If I am going to get buried, I want maximum available manpower to dig me out. Being stuck under an avalanche is like drowning, every second counts! One really good safety aspect was that they gave the person last in the group a radio, so that if the guide was buried, you could get straight on the blower to the chopper and/or other guides for assistance.

The chopper was the ubiquitous A-Star (or squirrel) which takes a guide + 4 people (and a pilot obviously).

The only reason I said I wouldn't re-visit (below) is that I would like to check out some different terrain and/or operators in other areas of Canada given the massive amount of heli skiing that goes on in this area of the world. See our video here

I had an awesome day with my first time ever heli-skiing. We were lucky enough to have an inversion with the weather so it was nice and warm up top and we had powder from top to bottom.

Great day of skiing and knowledgeable, fun instructor.

They taught me well and looked after me so that on my next trip I was far from a virgin heli-skier. Lots of fun and great introduction company.

Next time I would go with the smaller helicopter. See our video here

I've been with Whistler Heli twice and had an awesome time both times. 'Best day of our lives' was said many times by our groups! See our video here

The single day format of Whistler heli skiing is a huge bonus as it offers the opportunity to get a taste of heli skiing without committing to an expensive all-inclusive multi-day package. You can combine a great Whistler holiday (and all the skiing, activities and nightlife that Whistler-Blackcomb offers) with the amazing joys of heli skiing.

Other pros include huge terrain so there are plenty of freshies on offer, and Whistler heli skiing is a very experienced operator.

The only minor shortcoming is that the “Whistler currency” is applied to the cost of the heli skiing.

For more detailed ratings of Whistler Heli Skiing and to see how it compares to other heli skiing around the world, see our powderhounds heli ratings.
See our video here