Big White Ski Resort's Village Centre seen from the mountain's webcam footage on the morning of Dec. 4, 2023.
Image Credit: Big White Ski Resort
December 04, 2023 - 11:50 AM
It’s the latest opening day Big White Ski Resort has seen in a years and still there still isn’t enough snow to guarantee the date.
Resort vice president Michael J. Ballingall told iNFOnews.ca that opening day has been pushed back to from its original opening date on Nov. 23 to Thursday, Dec. 7. However, he can’t say with absolute certainty that mother nature will provide by then.
The mountain needs another 23 centimetres of snow before lifts can open, Ballingall said.
“With the storms over the weekend, we thought we would get 45 to 55 (centimetres),” he said. "We got 20. So, we really need another 25 to 30 centimetres.”
This, Ballingall said, is unusual for Big White which typically opens for the last week of November or the first week of December.
“Right now, I wouldn't bet on anything,” he said. “What the forecasters are saying and what we can expect has not been true yet so far this year.”
It will be even longer before the powdery snow Big White is famous for arrives, as temperatures need to get much colder.
“What would be nice to get right now would be what we call the traditional early season snow,” Ballingall said. “Which is wetter. It makes for very good packing with some moisture in it. The drier it is the more you need.”
Ballingall said skiers, snowboarders and mountain goers just need to be patient until mother nature finally delivers.
“We're all excited to get going, none more so than us,” he said. “So, we ask people to stay off the runs until we're officially open.”
More about Big White Ski Resort can be found by visiting the website here.
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