THE feeling of happiness and fun permeates the winter air as you see smiling faces abound, and the infectious sound of laughter echoes through the trees.
When it comes to winter fun there’s nothing better than enjoying a getaway with your family, and no one does family better than Big White Ski Resort.
“All of us have pretty much had the trip of our life,” said Australia’s 1988 World Surfing Champion Barton Lynch.
A trip of a lifetime is a good way to describe what’s in store once you step into the winter wonderland mountain village located at 1755 meters above sea level. With average temperatures of an enjoyable -5 Celsius you’ll quickly see why they call the snow ‘Okanagan Champagne Powder’. An average of 7.5 metres of the light fluffy stuff turns the trees into ‘Snow Ghosts’ and the slopes into one huge family playground.
Combine this with over 118 runs, five powder bowls, 15 lifts, and one gondola there’s more than enough terrain to keep your family happy. With short lift lines and no waiting around your kids will be clamouring out the door and onto the lifts as you see them begin turning every morning from your slope side accommodations.
The family fun doesn’t stop there as Big White also features the world class Telus terrain park, Canada’s highest elevation skating rink, Snow Coaster Adventure Park, 25-metre ice climbing tower, dogsledding, snowmobiling and alpine night skiing. All to keep the most adventurous members of the family happily occupied outdoors.
If you’re looking to learn, the ski school has some of the best programs and features found in the world. Flaiks GPS trackers let you know what your kids are up to during their lessons, or more importantly, where they are if they get lost. You can even have ski school staff come to your accommodation and pick up your kids each morning while you set out on your own.
Weeklong race camps help the keen skiers while the masters’ weeks are perfect for those looking to advance their skills at an advanced age.
Once the snows been dusted off your boots, and the ski gear hung to dry, it’s time to indulge in Big White’s epic family après activities. Take in the free weekly kids’ carnival in the Village Center Mall, or the weekly fireworks in Happy Valley, or maybe just drop the kids off for rock climbing and a movie at the Kids Center while you hit the spa for a relaxing massage. It’s all up to you.
Did we mention that the storybook village is also Canada’s largest totally ski-in ski-out resort village?
With exceptionally affordable prices and over 17,000 on-mountain beds there is a huge variety of accommodation to suit every budget. Feeling hungry? Big White is abound with food and drink, especially during the Gourmet Ski Week where delectable events quench your thirst and nourish your soul with chef hosted dinners, wine lunches, and après cocktail gatherings.
“With nonstop flights from Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne it’s so easy to just jump on a flight and be in Canada with no stops along the way, that makes it a much more feasible thing to come to North America and experience the size of these mountains and the quality of the snow,” said Barton Lynch.