Big White - World Snowboard Guide

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Known to some locals as the Big white out, problems with fog but it does have a cool boardercross course

Big White! Where? Located in the Okanagan Valley, 45 min from the large town of Kelowna, Big White is the world's best big unknown resort. It's a giant skatepark covered in snow and trees, and was recently bought by an Australian family along with Silver Star, who don't seem to be afraid to spend some cash - think $125 million, with $4 million on the Telus terrain park alone.

Snowboarders in search of good mountains have been cruelly misled by the world's slack ski press for years, and Big White is a prime example. Until recently, knowledgeable Canadians have had a freeride paradise with an annual 7.5 metres of champagne powder largely to themselves.

The recent large investment has resulted in an excellent lift system, good off-slope facilities and a lot of marketing. The secret of Big White won't last much longer. Most of the mountain is covered in trees with rolling pistes, although never uphill enough to make you walk. Almost every piste is littered with hits, allowing for you to get air numerous times on every descent. The lift system allows the crowd to disperse around the mountain making for crowd-free slopes, even on the busiest of days.

Big White is an ideal resort for mixed ability groups, there are miles of easy slopes which can be enjoyed by the advanced rider hitting the rollers, while the beginner can learn to link their turns on the same pistes.

The only thing missing here are wide open powder faces, with a max elevation of 2319 meters, the trees cover most of the mountain which leaves only small powder faces.

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New for season

06/07: new the largest 6-person lift in Canada, the Snow Ghost Express cost $7million. Happy Valley Beginner Area complete with magic carpet, some run improvements
05/06: 400 acres of new terrain in the Silver Woods area serviced by a new quad chair lift. 7 new trails created in total.
04/05:Huge $127.9 investmet for 04/05 season but $123.1 million of that is on accomodation, leaving 4mil on a new terrain park, lift, new runs & a grooming machine

Resort Statistics

Resort Type: Alpine
Winter: Nov to April
Summer: None

Lifts

Total Lifts: 15
Gondolas: 1
Chair lifts: 9
Drag lifts: 1
Other lifts: 2 Magic carpet, 1 beginners tow, 2 Tube Lifts
Max people per hour: 25,400
Board Leashes required: Yes

Mountain

Total pistes/trails: 118
Total ride area: 2765acres
Longest run: 4.5miles (7.2km)

Top lift: 2319m
Vertical drop: 777m
First lift: 1755m

Piste suitability

Green runs: 18%
Red runs: 56%
Black runs: 26%

Lift Passes

Lift Passes:
Half-day $50
Day pass $65
Day pass inc nightboarding $70
5 of 6 Days $297
Season pass $999
Lift times:8.45am to 8.00pm

Snowfall

Average annual snowfall: 7.50metres
Artificial snowmaking coverage: 0%

Facilities

Snowboard Schools: 2 Hour Group $42
Private 2 Hours $157
Snowboard Hire: Board & Boots, 1 day $36 additional days $27
Night Riding: : 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm Tuesday to Saturday free with any multi-day pass otherwise $24