I booked an early bird deal and received 15% off a 6 run package bringing the amount to $956 which was very respectable.

I flew with them on the 19th of August after being pushed back from the Thursday, when they explained why it was all about providing myself as the customer the best possible snow given the conditions, which made it more than acceptable.

My guide for the day was Tim, very easy to get along with and share a laugh or answer any of my questions.

The day ran very smoothly was picked up at 8.30 driven out to the pick up location, received the necessary trainings to help stay as safe a possible, and was in the mountains from about 10.45am till 3-3.30 before being driven back to town around 4pm.

Snow was nice soft corn on the sunny aspects and a 1-2cm layer of crust on the shaded aspects but dry powder underneath, once the initial layer of ice was broken it was very enjoyable. Alpine Helsinki provided a fantastic lunch of sausage rolls, soup & gourmet sandwiches, tea, coffee and juice 3 runs in before finishing the day of with some more challenging runs.

All in all a fantastic day and a great first look into the world of Heliskiing, I will definitely be returning to Queenstown to Heliski again with Alpine Heliski.

Matt

Professional service and a great day all round. JT our guide was a great laugh and really made our day. Would highly recommend them to anyone.

Thanks to Powder Hounds for the referral.

I will be fair with my ratings of the "snow" as they cancelled my flight at 9pm the night before. Read on:

After calling in the morning to see if the heliski was still going ahead the next day and signing all the waivers at 4pm, I got a call at 9pm the night before to "unfortunately" inform me that due to lack of numbers they had to cancel the heliski. The Freeride option still had openings when I called in the morning but the manager said my flight had enough numbers. When I asked whether I could transfer to the Freeride helicopter they said "sorry it's now fully booked".. So you're telling me you would rather walk-in business over customers who have booked months in advance? Is this because you get a higher rate for the last minute walk-ins?

One of the worst customer service I have experienced. They did offer to call up either Harris Mountain Heliski or Southern Lakes, 15 minutes later... they "may" have a spot for Southern Lakes but I won't find out until tomorrow. They did not even bother to call Harris Mountain Heliski whereas I took the initiative to give them a call, the owner picked up the phone (after hours) and was just at the bar down the road so personally came to see me and secured a booking for the next day - that's what I call "customer service".

My advice is to go with the larger Heliski companies who can make enough numbers to fill a helicopter. But hey, I'm just a customer, something Alpine Heliski does not care very much about.

Truly an awesome day, one of the best experiences of my life. We had fresh tracks all day and plenty of sunshine.

New Zealand heli skiing operations are all very similar and with the Queenstown operators it’s really difficult to differentiate one from another.

Factors typical to all NZ heli operations include: single day packages available; no tree skiing; high frequency of down days due to inability to ski and fly in protected areas; snow quality can be very variable; the vistas are spectacular; and the rates are a fraction of what you’d pay for heli skiing elsewhere in the world.

For all the Queenstown heli skiing operations the vertical drop is only about 600-700 metres, although with Alpine Heliski the runs might be a little longer than with Southern Lakes as some of their terrain is a fraction higher.

So what makes Alpine Heliski stand out from the rest of the pack? Alpine Heliski is owner-operated and the owner also doubles as the chief guide. Rather than it just being a business, heli skiing is Tim’s passion, and he’ll strive to make sure it becomes your obsession too. The operation is smaller than its competitors, and the boutique nature of the operation lends itself well to being able to customise the experience somewhat for each guest, even with the “standard” packages. The introduction of the Free Ride Days is also somewhat novel and a great opportunity for those on a budget to get out and enjoy the spectacular backcountry.

For a more detailed review and ratings on this operation, see our Alpine Heli Ski review.