Big White Winter Blog

Here we are in November, or as many guys now call it MOvember. November started out with a big snowfall! Over 30cm of snow on weekend and it's still snowing! Laughing Another big storm is hitting the resort today, 8cm in the last 12hrs!

It was an incredible week at Big White Ski Resort, where the Sport Chek Canadian Snowboard Cross Championships took place. This year’s Canadian Championships held a strong contingent of competitors with some excellent racing by the next generation of Canadian Snowboardcross riders.

The second of two IPC Para-Snowboard World Cup went off yesterday under stellar conditions, providing the best riding available to the world-class athletes that made their way to Big White Ski Resort in Kelowna, BC.

IPC Para Snowboarding World Cup
March 29th, 2013

BIG WHITE, BRITISH-COLUMBIA (MARCH 25, 2013) – Canada’s best Snowboardcross athletes will take part in the Sport Chek Canadian Snowboardcross Championships from March 25 - 30 at Big White Ski Resort. Spectators will have the opportunity to watch performances from 2010 Olympic Champion and 2013 FIS World Champion Maëlle Ricker from Squamish, BC as well as Blue Mountain FIS World Cup victor Chris Robanske from North Vancouver, BC.

Alongside the Sport Chek Canadian Championships, the two last stops of the IPC World Cup tour will also be presented on the same course. These races will feature Canadian medal hopefuls Tyler Mosher from Whistler, BC and Ian Lockey from Arnprior, ON at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games.

Savvy Sassy Moms recently visited Big White Ski Resort, here's a snippet of what they had to say:

Dave Zerr Experiences Big White... Again!
It was with a great deal of excitement and anticipation that I returned to Big White with my two son's after having worked there many years ago. To say that what I found was "unbelievable", would be an understatement!

This weekend Big White hosted Cruz The Blues for the third time this season. Over 1,100 people registered. The youngest being only four years old and the oldest an incredible 89.

Saturday's weather tested our participants navigation skills with a thick fog covering the mountains for majority of the day - but no one complained since it was snowing and was much more adventurous! Whilst Sunday's weather was overcast with clear visibility which helped people collect their stamps a lot faster.

By 3.30pm, Happy Valley's Day Lodge was completely full with families and groups of friends lining up for their Cruz The Blues t-shirt. The presentation commenced, hosted by the Guest Services Crew, and random participant's names were drawn out and were given prizes. The Crew also threw out prizes such as sunglasses, clothing, stickers, belts and mascot stuffed animals to the crowd who were lucky and quick to snatch them up! Grand prizes included a GoPro, Oakley Snow Goggles, an iPod Shuffle and Nintendo DS Games. It was great to see everyone receiving something. The overall weekend was successful and fun.

The next Cruz The Blues weekend will be held 16th to 17th March and is sponsored by Stutters Disaster Kleenup, Wind, Fire and Water Kleenup and Big White.

Each year at the BC Alpine Awards Banquet the coveted award for the Event of The Year is presented to a ski club that has demonstrated the ability to host an outstanding event, whether it be a race, special event or a festival. 2012 the Big White Racers together with the Big White Ski Resort pulled out all the stops for the BC Alpine Teck K1 Provincial Championships winning this prestigious award. Voted on by their peers this truly was a feather in the cap for the club and the resort.

A total of 205 racers ages 11-12 competed in 3 day event that included Giant Slalom, Slalom and Ski Cross races under glorious sunny blue skies Mar 16-18. To execute an event of this magnitude is not for the faint of heart as it takes 120 volunteers a day with a can do attitude under the leadership of a dedicated Race and Social committee. Race courses groomed to perfection, timing that was flawless and race officials that radiated pride were eminent all weekend long.

Topping off these first class races were social events, starting off with a thank you to the backbone of a race event the volunteers with a gathering at the end of the day with pizza and brew. The crowning jewel was a fantastic VIP appreciation party held in the Village Centre Mall for parents, coaches and volunteers.

All the while the young athletes were dancing the night away down at Happy Valley after their own dinner banquet. They too went home with great results, memories and swag bags compliments of the various sponsors. Everything was done right and nothing left to chance.

“This was one of the best provincial ski events ever, every little detail was thought of and the races were extremely well executed, a job well done. How anyone can top this event is beyond me” commented Teresa C. Fernie Alpine Ski Team Mom.