A former Big White gondola could be yours for $5,500.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Big White Ski Resort
September 23, 2022 - 2:00 PM
Big White Ski Resort is replacing its well-known yellow "Cinderella" gondolas and buyers from around the world have been purchasing them.
“The Cinderella cabins were made exclusively for us, only one other resort in the world bought those cabins,” said senior vice president Michael Ballingall.
Desmond Schumann, the former owner of Big White, wanted a cabin that looked like Cinderella’s carriage so that style was made specifically for the mountain, Ballingall said.
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“It was great in probably the first couple years they were built. There weren’t fat skis and fat skis are hard to put in the middle so you had to hold them in your hand… and they’ve worn out,” he said.
New gondola cabins are being installed at the resort, making it easier to haul equipment like mountain bikes up the mountain.
All 16 Cinderella gondolas are being replaced with larger lifts, able to hold more people. The resort is selling them at $5,500 each with proceeds being donated to the local charities like the Central Okanagan Food Bank.
A gondola is already being shipped to New Zealand, one is being shipped to a cabin near Canora, Sask. One person wants a gondola for his restaurant, five will be used potentially as lifts from houses to a lake and a ski shop is interested in one, Ballingall said. A gondola is also being donated to Camp Winfield.
READ MORE: Big White plans to more than double its current mountain bike trail network
“The replacement ones are just under $100,000 each and when these were brand new they were $48,000 each.”
They've been operating at the resort for the last 23 years.
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