FILE PHOTO
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Big White Ski Resort
February 20, 2025 - 3:50 PM
Winter mountain sports have seen huge growth since the COVID pandemic and Big White Ski Resort doesn’t think that trend is going to change any time soon.
The Canadian Ski Council has dubbed Feb. 21 National Ski and Snowboard Day and said more Canadians are enjoying the snow.
The council said ski and snowboard participation is up 25 per cent since the pandemic and 21 per cent of Canadians are hitting slopes.
Big White’s vice president Michael J. Ballingall said this year a lot of folks who fly south for the winter decided to stick around and ski instead.
“There's a lot more locals that are skiing and snowboarding. We have a lot more people that haven't gone south. Normally, we would see the snowbirds come back in early March to mid-March and ski until the end of the season. We actually saw them come back earlier or they didn't go at all. So our club 65, those over 65 are seniors, there's a lot more of those this year,” he said.
He also said going to the mountain has become more of a family activity this year.
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“We're seeing a lot more families on the mountain this year. Our visitations out of Washington State, Ontario, the Prairies and Lower Mainland are all up,” he said.
The Canadian Ski Council said there are 100,000 Canadians who work in snow sports and it has become a $4.4 billion a year industry.
Ballingall said Big White is running more shuttles to bring people to the resort from the airport than before.
“There's more frequent flights in and out of the airport. We normally, in years past, have run 15 to 17 shuttles a day. We're up at 23 shuttles a day right now to the airport and back,” he said.
Big White also saw a huge boost in visitors over the holidays, particularly from the U.S., because of the falling Canadian dollar and the stellar conditions this year.
“Every time it snows, more people come up the mountain,” he said.
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