Big White Ski Resort, or simply Big White, is a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

located southeast of

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

in the

Southern Interior of British Columbia Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...

. It is located on

Big White Mountain Big White Mountain is the highest mountain of the Okanagan Highland, Canada, and also of the Beaverdell Range, a subrange of that formation, which lies between the Okanagan Valley to its west and the main spine of the Monashee Mountains to its e ...

, the highest summit in the

Okanagan Highland The Okanagan Highland is an elevated hilly plateau area in British Columbia, Canada, and the U.S. state of Washington (where it is spelled Okanogan Highlands). Rounded mountains with elevations up to above sea level and deep, narrow valleys are ...

, an upland area between the

Monashee Mountains The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range lying mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch from north to south and from east to west. They are a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. The highes ...

and the

Okanagan Valley The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...

. Big White is also the third largest resort in British Columbia, after

Whistler-Blackcomb Whistler Blackcomb is a ski resort located in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. By many measures it is the largest ski resort in North America and has the greatest uphill lift capacity. It features the Peak 2 Peak Gondola for moving between ...

and Sun Peaks. Moreover, in 2019 Big White was nominated as the third-best ski resort in the nation by Snowpak. The mountain summit is at with a vertical drop of , serviced by 16 lifts. The mountain receives 750 cm of annual

snowfall Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

. It has of overall skiable terrain. With of

night skiing Night skiing is the sport of skiing or snowboarding after sundown, offered at many ski resorts and mountains. There are usually floodlights – including LED lamps – along the piste which allow for better visibility. It typically begins after a ...

, Big White has western Canada's largest resort night skiing area. It has a central village classified as a

designated place A designated place (DPL) is a type of community or settlement identified by Statistics Canada that does not meet the criteria used to define municipalities or population centres. DPLs are delineated every 5 years for the Canadian census as the sta ...

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, which comprises accommodation, eateries, bars and shops. The village is above sea level.

History

Big White was founded by Cliff Serwa and Doug Mervin and opened in 1963 with one

T-bar A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

. The first Snow Ghosts were discovered in 1965 by skiers, they later became the mountain's icon. The first accommodation on the mountain was built in 1968 and the first cabin was built in 1969. The Ridge Chair (double) opened in 1971. The Powder Chair (1979) (triple), The Easter Chair (1976) (triple), and the Village Chair (triple) opened thereafter. In the mid-1980s the Easter Chair was moved to replace the bunny hill t-bar and was renamed the Village chair; the Village Chair became the Summit Chair. The Ridge Rocket Express (quad) replaced the double chair in 1989 and the Bullet Express replaced the Summit and Village chairs in 1991. The Alpine T-Bar was moved to its present location and extended around this time as well. The Falcon Chair, which was in fact the old Ridge Chair, opened up the west side of the hill in 1992. The Gem Lake Express (quad), which doubled the skiable era, opened in 1997. The six-pack Snow Ghost was built adjacent to Ridge Rocket in 2006 to provide additional uphill capacity out of the Ridge base area. In 2018 the triple seat Powder Chair was replaced by a four seat chair with the same name. In April 2020 The Snowghost Inn had a major roof collapse causing the roof over the atrium and pool to collapse. Big White was closed at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. '' Shred'' and ''

Shred 2 ''Revenge of the Boarding School Dropouts'' is a 2009 snowboarding film and a sequel to ''Shred (film), Shred'' (2008) that stars Tom Green and Dave England. It was filmed at Big White Ski Resort in British Columbia, Canada. Plot ''Revenge of the ...

'' snowboarding movies starring

Tom Green Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian-American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted ''The Tom Green Show'', which a ...

and

Dave England David Joseph England (born December 30, 1969) is an American stunt performer and former professional snowboarder. He was born in 1969 to Bonfield and Winnifred England. He is best known as one of the stars of the reality stunt show '' Jackass''. ...

were filmed at

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

and Big White.

Skiing terrain

Big White has a total of 119 "designated" trails and 27 unnamed trails. 18% of these trails are beginner, 56% intermediate and the remaining 26% are classed as expert. The wooded areas between trails are all open and can offer a variety of ungroomed snow and widely varied terrain. Big White currently has one 8-passenger high speed

gondola The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull ...

, one 6-passenger high speed chair (new for the 06/07 season), four 4-passenger high speed chairs, two 4-passenger fixed-grip chairs, three 2-passenger chairs (including the Telus park chairlift), one T-bar, one children's and one adult's magic carpet. There is a tubing carpet lift (new for the 15/16 season). These lifts are capable of transporting 28,000 people per hour uphill. All feeder lifts now use RFID gate technology to scan guests for valid lift tickets and passes.

East side

The eastern side of Big White is where the majority of lifts are located. The runs on this side are usually shorter and more crowded than those found over on the Gem Lake side. The most advanced runs are located on this side underneath the

Cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

chair. The Cliff Chair closed during the 2008 season, pending an investigation by

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

experts after the Parachute Bowl slipped in January 2008. There is one high-speed detachable 6-seater chair (Snow Ghost Express), three high-speed detachable quad chairs (Ridge Rocket, Bullet, and the Black Forest), one fixed-grip quad chairlift (Powder Chair), three double

chairlifts An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

(Falcon, Cliff and Telus Park), and a single

, the Alpine T-bar. The Ridge Rocket chair has a small lodge at its base, and the base of the Bullet chair is very near the main village. The new 6-seater lift (the Snow Ghost Express) was built for the 2006-2007 season parallel to Ridge Rocket Express to reduce lift lines.

Gem Lake

Gem Lake is located on the western side of Big White and is served by the Gem Lake high-speed detachable quad chair. The Falcon and Powder Chairs, two and four-person lifts respectively, are nearby. The Gem Lake lift is often windier than the east side lifts, but offers the largest single-lift vertical drop at the hill at 710 m. It has a lodge known as the Westridge Warming Hut complete with washrooms, coffee shop, ticket sales and large parking lot at its base; the base of the Gem Lake Express is quite distant from the Village area. Traditionally

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

tend to ski more on the east side while locals from Kelowna and other nearby towns will ski Gem Lake more than tourists. The addition of several new groomed blue and green runs at Gem Lake have allowed this area to be much more family-friendly to the beginner / intermediate skier or rider.

East Peak

The ski resort is expected to unveil plans in the near future that call for the addition of of skiable area on the East Peak. This new area will be mainly intermediate and advanced terrain and the expansion will be on land leased from the province. Also included in the plans are a second base area, a new residential area and a golf course.

Terrain Park

Big White opened the

Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voi ...

Park in the 2004/2005 season. It features a standard sized

half-pipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramp ...

along with a skier/border cross course and beginner through to advanced rails and jumps. The park is separated into two sides; one has larger jumps, rails, and boxes, and the other has smaller features, the border cross, and a half-pipe. Big White is also exclusive to a snow-cross run identical to the one at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Nordic trails

Big White has 25 km of Nordic trails.

Ski and Snowboard School

Big White has over 200 qualified instructors, offering classes for all ages and all skill levels.

Master Plan

Big White is in the process of designing and submitting an updated Master Plan.

Services

Activities

Activities include the Mega Snow Coaster, which was once the largest tubing park in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

tours, Kids snow mobile rides, sleigh riding,

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and the e ...

snowshoeing Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

through Big White's beautiful trails, and

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

on the Olympic sized outdoor rink with a scenic view. Big White also has a 60-foot ice climbing wall, catered to all ages and climbing levels. There is the Sno-Limo, a sort of a cross between a dog sled and a lazy-boy chair on skis, which is for anyone who does not ski or snowboard to still be on the hill with everyone else. A new summer hiking trail opened at Big White on July 19, 2014. Big White also has Snow Adventure ski and snowboard improvement courses hosted by Snow Adventure in collaboration with the Big White Ski and Board School. There are various courses available including learn-to-ride courses, off-piste specific courses, a 3-week master-the-mountain course as well as ladies' and men's improvement weeks.

Accommodations

There are currently four village condo hotels, 25 condo or town house complexes, 244 vacation homes and one ski in/ski out

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...

. Vacation property rental companies manage many of the properties in Big White. The village area includes 18 restaurants, cafés and delis, as well as a small grocery store and liquor store.

Retail

Big White is located about a one-hour drive outside Kelowna, and features a quaint on-mountain village. Several shops such as Dizzy's ski shop, The Village Rider, Ski Dazzle, and the New Loose MooseEmporium Candy Shop are located in the Village Centre Mall and around the village. The Mountain Mart is a fully stocked grocery store and a licensed liquor outlet as well, located in the Village. There's also a wine and beer store located in the Village Centre Mall.

Deaths

On January 6, 2008, Leigh Barnier, an Australian skier, was killed by an

while skiing on an open, in bounds run. Barnier was an employee at the time; however, he was not on shift. On March 6, 2010, a snowboarder from Vancouver, British Columbia, was killed after striking an obstacle near the Falcon Chair. A doctor, who was skiing close by, attended to the injured man almost immediately, but the man was already deceased. On March 13, 2011, an Ontario man was spotted upside-down in a tree well on one of the runs. The man was airlifted to Kelowna General Hospital where he was pronounced dead. On January 8, 2013, Nickolas Voyer-Taylor, a snowboarder from Winnipeg, Canada, died of hypothermia after being retrieved from a creek bed near Sapphire Glades at the Big White Resort. He was found seriously injured, partially submerged in water and buried in snow. On December 20, 2017, a 60-year-old skier died after skiing over a 25–30 foot cliff that was in an out-of-bounds area and landing buried in the snow. Attempts were made by emergency personnel and ski-patrol to resuscitate the male skier but were unsuccessful. On January 2, 2021, an unfortunate accident lead to the death of a 57-year-old nurse from

, Carrie Koski. The police were alerted by a 911 call at 4:17 pm that a woman had been found dead. She was found in a tree well by searchers and efforts were made to revive her.

Gallery

File:Bottomofclif.jpg, Looking up from the bottom of the Cliff Chair File:Rental Home BW.jpg, Trappers Crossing, a town house complex File:Village Centre Mall, Big White Ski Resort, British Columbia (8 January 2006).jpg, The Village Centre Mall File:Big White Ski Resort, Monashee Mountains.jpg, Near top of the Powder Chair File:Skier at Big White.jpg, Jumping off a boulder File:0602BigWhitePowderChute.jpg, Boarders coming down the Powder Chute File:1Mikeblackdimond.jpg, Skiing a black diamond at Big White

References

Big White Ski Resort Site
accessed October 23, 2005.
Theglobeandmail.com