“Snow!” Yelps of pure excitement punctuate our arrival at Big White Ski Resort.
My spouse and I exchange a bemused look as we glance at our two children, ages 9 and 11, and reflect on a time when the white stuff wasn’t a stranger to our North Shore mountains. In my younger years, I skated on Lost Lagoon, spring skied at Grouse, and worked on my tailgate tan at Cypress “Beach.” But let’s just say it: it hasn’t exactly been a banner year for our local ski resorts. And the kids are clearly craving some winter snow play. And so, in pursuit of the fluffy flakes, we head to B.C.’s Interior, where the skiing and boarding has been ideal this season.
Big White has the white stuff — and plenty of it. The resort enjoyed its biggest snow day ever in the first week of 2015, with Mother Nature dumping 56 centimetres of fresh powder in just 36 hours, blanketing the resort’s deep bowls and wide-open glades.
The village of Big White is about an hour’s drive southeast of Kelowna, atop the highest summit between the Monashee Mountains and the Okanagan Valley. Its 118 marked runs across 2,765 acres of skiable terrain make it the third largest resort in British Columbia after Whistler-Blackcomb and Sun Peaks.
We arrive midday on a Friday in January with a plan to stay two nights. From North Vancouver, our drive to the alpine resort takes five hours. We leave our house after breakfast and by noon we’ve checked in to our two-bedroom club suite at Sundance Resort. The resort’s location, just above the Bullet Express, near the village centre, allows for prime ski-in/ski-out access on the mountain. Kids have free access to Club Sundance (heated saltwater pool with waterslide, games room and movie theatre with nightly showings) but opt instead to build a snow fort in a massive bank of powder nearby. After dinner and a stroll in the village, we’re in for an early night.
The next morning, we speed through the rental shop in Village Centre Mall with the help of Matty, a friendly New Zealander who equips the four of us with high-performance gear. There’s time for a breakfast sandwich from Beano’s before dropping the kids for their ski lessons. At the Kids’ Centre across from the rental shop, they’re checked in and outfitted with Flaik, an ankle monitor that tracks their runs so they can log in later to see how much vertical they tackled. I head off for a two-hour group lesson while my spouse meets his snow host, Keith, for an insider’s tour of the terrain. Big White’s local guides lead free excursions, 10:30 a.m. daily from the village plaza (look for their yellow ski jackets).
The village plaza is buzzing. A fresh dump of snow has brought in Kelowna pass-holders, Aussies are in their final days of summer break, and Americans are up for a long weekend. All this has our instructor apologizing for the lift lineups. As I queue up for the Bullet Express quad chair, I shake my head and smile; I’ve spent more time in the checkout at Save-On-Foods. If this is “busy,” I’ll take it. Like Whistler-Blackcomb, Big White has done away with hand-held ticket scanners and now uses radio frequency ID access cards. No more fumbling for your pass, just keep it in your pocket and the circuit in your card opens the lift gate automatically. As a bonus, you can reload the card online to add extra days.
There are six in our intermediate lesson group: a teen from Perth, a boomer from Brisbane, two locals in their 40s, and a retiree from Saskatchewan. Our instructor, Mark, organizes Big White’s popular Ladies Day (more on that below). Like most resort staff here, he’s a seasonal resident. In April, he’ll return to his native Yorkshire, England, where he runs a touring theatre company. His dramatic flair is in full force when coaching us on how to execute a carve turn in the Okanagan’s famous champagne powder: “Extend to turn, bend to survive,” he instructs us in his best Downton Abbey accent. “Always active, never static!” he trills encouragingly.
By the end of our session, we’re carving down Sundance (an easy green that's a locals’ secret with scarcely a skier on it), cruising along Shortcut and schussing down Gondola Way into Happy Valley, where we catch the yellow gondola back to the village.
Over mulled wine and potato croquettes lunchtime at Globe Café and Tapas Bar, restaurant owner and full-time Big White resident Jude Brunt tells me that locals and seasonal staff work hard to ensure Big White remains Canada’s favourite family resort. (International ski and travel magazines consistently rank it so).
A lot of that has to do with the terrain. Only a quarter of Big White’s trails are classed as expert while more than half are intermediate. There’s a green, or beginner, run from the top of every lift, which means a safe and happy way down for newbies.
But the resort’s family-friendly status also extends off the slopes. Whether it’s the door-to-ski shuttle service, where for a nominal fee your kid’s ski instructor comes to your hotel for lesson pickup and drop-off, free hot chocolate at the Happy Valley bonfire (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 5:30-6:30 p.m.), or carnival night with cotton candy, games and prizes in the village centre (Saturdays 6:30-8 p.m.), the resort takes care that kids are happy and tired by day’s end and parents get a break too. “It’s not ‘What to do?’ But, ‘What to do first?!,’ " says Big White’s promotional brochure, featuring a photo collage of families skating, ice climbing, dog sledding, horse-sleigh riding, tubing, showshoeing, snowmobiling, and — oh right — skiing.
After lunch, it’s back to the slopes for a few more runs before picking up the kids from their lessons. Après-ski, it’s tempting to crash in our suite, but we’re leaving the next day and there’s more to see and do.
We head to the Moose Lounge in the Happy Valley day lodge to catch singer-guitarist Jon Bos at the mike before he finishes his set at 6 p.m. After burgers at the Moose, my boy joins an Australian kid in a Bieksa jersey and a girl from Saskatchewan in a game of shinny on the Olympic-sized outdoor rink while I watch from the crackling bonfire. My girl and her dad seek a few thrills at the nearby Mega Snow Coaster tube park. Later, fireworks light up the sky, signalling the end to an action-filled day.
Our morning plan is to ski out from Sundance to the Bullet chair, take the first lift at 8:45 and ski fresh tracks before checkout at noon. Mother Nature has other ideas and we wake to falling flakes, DriveBC is calling for 30 cm of snow on the Coquihalla, and so we rethink. Snow. ... It’s heaven on the slopes, but hell on the highway. The kids play in the champagne powder as we hastily pack up and we’re on the road by 10, waving goodbye to our weekend winter wonderland.
If you go:
Stay
Sundance Resort, studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom club suites, three-bedroom townhomes with hot tub and four-bedroom cabins. Book three nights and three days of skiing with Big White central reservations and the fourth night and fourth day of skiing is free. Book five nights of accommodation and five days of skiing and get two more nights and two more days for free. Ski for free when you book March 29-April 11. Room rates start at $134 per night and include two free lift tickets.
Eat
Globe Café and Tapas Bar’s weekly features and fun include Kids Eat Free Mondays, 5-7 p.m. Nightly from 5-7:30 p.m., dine “trattoria family style” at Globe, with a huge bowl of fresh pasta dishes for sharing, plus drinks for the kids and wine for the parents, all for $60. Family dinner nights include scrabble, trivial pursuit and other board games to enjoy with the kids before and after your food arrives. Kids will love the table-top s’mores with marshmallows made in-house.
Play
Book your lift ticket here and save $15 each additional day. Wednesday is Ladies Day: for $59, join with a gal pal or make new friends over a two-hour group lesson (ski, board or snowshoe) followed by gourmet lunch with wine tasting and prizes at the swanky Kettle Valley Steakhouse. A full-day tubing pass is $19; five-day unlimited tubing is $52. The skating rink is closed for the season. Kids After Dark, the Kids’ Centre evening programs, 5-8 p.m. provide kids with fun and parents a night off; for kids ages five and up, free to $25, based on activity and dinner options. Register in Kids Centre or concierge desk in Village Centre Mall before 3 p.m.
Getting there
If driving, check on the latest Road Conditions on DriveBC.com. Click on the McCulloch web cam to view Highway 33, just south of Big White turnoff. Winter tire and chain up regulations are in effect.
By air: West Jet and Air Canada fly non-stop from YVR to Kelowna. It’s a 21-minute flight and 55-minute airport shuttle. Fly with WestJet and ski for free the same day you arrive.
SPRING BREAK FUN AT BIG WHITE
March 7: The Kelowna Cup — Back after a 20-year hiatus, this race is ’80s themed, so pull out your treasured one-piece snowsuit. Psychic slalom race on Lower Speculation, 10 a.m. to noon; prizes and swag. Awards at Sessions Taphouse and Grill, 2-4 p.m.
March 11 and March 21: Kelowna Rockets — Take the Big White shuttle into town to see future NHL’ers battle on the ice at Prospera Place, home of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets; game ticket and bus is $39.
March 14: Cruz the Blues — Pick up your passport at the concierge desk, take it to each blue run, find the sign with the stamp attached and stamp each run as you go.
March 17: St. Patrick’s Day — Celebrate at the highest altitude Irish pub in Canada. The Blarney Stone has live music, bodhran drum lessons, Irish dancers, a photo booth and door prizes.
March 20-22: Neil Edgeworth Banked Slalom — The 18th annual memorial pro-am snowboarding competition promises lots of action at Big White’s Telus terrain park.
Click here for event updates.
