Big White Ski Resort
A ski area worth seeing


It was a wonderful day of skiing, even if I had no idea where I was or where
I went.

"You should have been here yesterday," more than one person assured me.

Around the Okanagan region of British Columbia, skiers and snowboarders from
other areas frequently refer to Big White Ski Resort as "Big White-Out"
because it's occasionally subjected to dense, heavy fog. But there's also a
trace of envy, of sparring respect, and truth. That first day, a big
whiteout left me without the foggiest notion of where I was.

With the help of a knowing guide, I spent the morning skiing a variety of
groomed runs and, even better, snowy glades cushioned with several inches of
pillowly fresh powder snow that fell a night earlier. We zigged and weaved
around trees, cutting our own first tracks. I felt like a bug flitting and
floating on water. Two summers ago, Big White maintenance crews carefully
thinned tightly bunched trees to create spaces for tree skiing. It was work
done well.

We found other surprises. Most experienced skiers fastidiously avoid the
green, or beginner, runs, but that worked to our advantage. Those shunned
runs, including some that would earn intermediate ratings at other ski
areas, were untouched, providing carefree fun runs on fluffy powder.

That afternoon I met Steve Threndyle, a ski writing friend.We zigzagged
around more trees, mostly off the Black Forest chair. It was great fun,
until we separated somewhere in the glades between Cougar Alley and Whiskey
Jack. Or
was it between Whiskey Jack and Herbert's Hollow? I'll never know. At one
point we exchanged shouts. After skiing out of the trees, I waited along the
run, at the chairlift and at the Village Center, but we never reconnected.
We didn't come back in contact until several days later when, to our mutual
surprise, we both boarded a Seattle-bound Horizon Airlines flight in
Kelowna.

That same foggy night, after skiing until the lifts closed, I rode the
gondola to nearby Happy Valley, 1,800 feet below the Village Center. There I
spent more than an hour at the Mega Snow Coaster, where I jumped on tubes
for zippy rides down a series of nine groomed lanes. Some runs are steeper
and faster than others. The speediest run has a sudden dip, which send me
bounding bump-thump. The uphill portion is a cinch because tubes are hooked
to a rope-tow to provide a relaxing uphill ride. It was pure fun.

After a rib eye steak dinner, wth balsamic rice, broccoli smothered with
cheese and a glass of Okanagan Pinot Noir at the Kettle Valley Steakhouse, I
did some serious muscle massaging at the White Crystal Inn's outdoor hot
tub.

Things changed overnight. That second morning the view from my room at the
White Crystal Inn, one of the resort's many ski-in ski-out lodgings, exposed
a mountain free of fog, with sweeping views of ski runs and tony
mountainside homes. Big White is Canada's largest totally ski-in ski-out
resort with more than 14,000 beds, including four hotels, 25 condo-town home
complexes, 24 vacation homes and luxury cabins, two youth hostels, 17
restaurants-bars-delis, eight bars and lounges.

Less than an hour after peeking out my window I was at the front of the line
when the Ridge Rock Express chair lift opened at 8:30. This past summer the
resort has added another $110-plus million in improvements, including two
new chairlifts, a state-of-the-art ski and snowboard terrain park and new
on-mountain day lodge.

But this day I didn't know about that, or even care. Instead, on the ride up
I gasped at the panoramic views, seeing sights unseen a day earlier. I gazed
at the line of chairlifts that transport skiers and boarders to heavenly
views and, at the top Ridge Rock, looked into a massive backcountry bowl
that had been shrouded a day earlier. There's a reason why Big White earned
honors from Ski Canada magazine for its best variety of terrain award.

Big White is a huge mountain, with lifts that access massive bowls,
tree-freckled glades and, above tree-line, wide open steeps. I spent the
long morning bedazzled by sights. Instead of skiing by braille, I hungrily
revisited runs I'd tested a day earlier and explored new areas, including
off piste routes that drop down elevator-like slopes into narrow valleys. It
was exciting and exhilarating. Big White is big, with 2,500 feet of vertical
and nearly 2,800 acres of skiable terrain. Ski Canada magazine honored Big
White with its "best grooming in the West" award and, despite its
occasional, the resorthe also received the magazine's "best weather" honors.
Actually, that freezing fog has its advantages because it transforms hilltop
trees into beautiful "snow ghosts."

As I learned, Big White Ski Resort is truly worth seeing.

   * * *
Big White Resort is 45 minutes from Kelowna in British Columbia's Okanagan
Valley. It is Canada's largest ski-in-ski-out resort and the winner of
numerous award, including North America's Family Resort of the Year, best
terrain variety, best grooming and best natural snow. Investors have
financed $140 million in improvements. The wide list of
offerings including the tube park, several restaurants and shops,
ski-snowboard rentals and instruction, dog sledding, snowmobile tours,
heli-flightseeing and outdoor ice skating. For information visit the Big
White Web site at www.bigwhite.com or call toll-free (800) 663-2772.

Lee Juillerat is the regional editor of the Herald and News in Klamath
Falls, Oregon. He has written travel and adventure stories about national
and international destinations for High On Adventure for eight years. Over
the years, Lee has had more than 100 stories and photographs in a variety of
magazines, including Alaska/Horizon airlines inflight publications,
Northwest Travel, Oregon Coast, Sunset, Range, Oregon Outside and many
others. He has also written two books about Crater Lake National Park and
contributed writings and photographs to several books and journals. He can
be contacted at lee337@cvc.net.

* * *

cutlines/ all for jpeg files, access via media. There are also photos
available through the Web site - go to media and photos.

p.23 - An 8-passenger gondola connects Big White's Village Center with
HappyValley, which has parking for day visitors, a tube hill, skating rink,
restaurants and access to cross country skiing,

p.3 < Tree skiing through carefully thinned forests provides a great
experience for Big White skiers and boarders.

p.35 < Sleigh rides are offered in the village area at Big White Ski Resort.

p.4 and 5 < Snowboarders find lots of terrain at Big White.

p.6 < Big White is renowned for its groomed runs that provide excellent
"cruising."

p.8 < Skiers and boarders head out for a day on the slopes.

p.1 < "Snow ghosts," created by fog and heavy snow, are part of the
attraction at British Columbia's Big White.