Big White Ski Resort, Canada

Big White Ski Resort is called simply Big White. This is a ski resort that is located about 35 miles from Kelowna, British Columbia. The resort is located on the highest summit of the region of Okanagan Highland, the Big White Mountain. The Big White Ski Resort has the advantage of being the 2nd largest resort that is found in British Columbia and is said to be the sister resort of the Silver Star Mountain Resort.

As any true fan of the Big White would tell you, the experience of being there could equate to being able to let your skis glide over some of the driest and best blankets of champagne powder that has been laid out perfectly at over hundred groomed runs and alpine bowls that are best described as ‘spacious’. Once you’re here, you’d know what you were missing out on. A few minutes on the snow, and you’d know what it was that you were missing about natural snow.

Back in Time:

Originally, Big White had only two T-bars to boast of. The Ridge Chair is said to have opened only in the early part of the 70s. The Powder Chair, the Village Chair, and the Easter Chair were opened subsequently. When it came to the mid 80s, there was the bunny hill t-bar that replaced the Easter Chair, and this was renamed as the Village Chair. The original Village Chair got renamed as the Summit Chair. This was only the beginning of changes.

The Ridge Rocket Express later took the place of the now Village Chair; and the Bullet Express came in place of the Village and Summit Chairs in the year 1991. The Falcon Chair (which was, in reality, the Ridge Chair) opened up alongside the western side of the hill. This development took place during the middle part of the 1990-2000 decade.

The Gem Lake Express ended up doubling the area that was skiable, and this opened as recently at 2000.

Ski Away:

The Big White Ski Resort boasts of 118 designated trails and some other 27 odd unnamed trails. About 18% of the trails come under the category of beginners, and a good chunk of 56% is said to fall under the intermediate category. The remaining 26% is perfect for the experts, who have wielded their skis for long enough to be here. The wooded areas that lie in between the trails are said to be all open to the crowds and they end up offering you with a wide variety of snow that hasn’t been groomed. The wide variety of terrain also adds to the beauty of them.

Gem Lake:

Gem Lake is on the western side of the Big White and is said to be served by the high-speed detachable quad chair of Gem Lake. The Powder and Falcon Chairs are also close by and are said to be worth the visit. The largest single-lift vertical drop (710 m) makes up for more than the windy experience of being on the western side of the Big White, instead of the eastern side which is more favorable in terms of the wind.

If you do take up Gem Lake, you’ll notice that most of the crowd here will comprise of locals from Kelowna and surrounding towns. Gem Lake is built with more experienced runs and may not be ideal for beginners.