On December 8, 60 years ago, 400 skiers traversed the one-way road up the mountain to the newly constructed resort – complete with a 1,700-metre T-bar and 150-metre tow rope. They paid around $4 for a ticket, ate a “light meal” from the cafeteria in the log-cabin style chalet – located about 150 metres straight uphill from where Monashee Inn is now – and likely had no idea what a ski helmet was.
1963: Lester B. Pearson was prime minister; a lakefront home in Kelowna cost just over $16,000; and, Big White Ski Resort opened to the public for the first time ever.
What does it take to turn a mound of debt into a mountain of success? Peter Schumann, whose family has owned Big White Ski Resort since 1985 (and has avoided the press like the plague), has decided to break his silence and talk about his family’s story and Big White’s turn-around.
