Big White Ski Resort opens to long line of anxious skiers and snowboarders

It’s the official start to the ski and snowboarding season at the Big White Ski Resort, east of Kelowna.

The mountain opened for the season Friday morning with three lifts operating.

That includes Laura’s gondola, the bullet high-speed quad chair and the plaza chair.

The alpine snow base Friday morning was 82 centimetres.

“It’s very limited snow conditions right now,” said Michael J. Ballingall, Big White’s senior vice-president.

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That, however, didn’t stop skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts from hitting the slopes with a throng of people lined up at the bullet chair throughout the day.

“It’s great right now,” said skier Mandy Mortensen. “We’ve got sunshine. The snow on these runs is good. Everybody is in a good mood having fun. It’s good.”

According to Global Okanagan meteorologist Peter Quinlan, the mountain could get between three to eight centimetres of fresh snow as early as Saturday.

“We are expecting more snow and when we get more snow, more lifts, more runs,” Ballingall said. “The locals know what Big White is all about. They know that we will open more when we get more snow.”

The ski resort is still looking to fill many job positions amid a labour shortage right across Canada.

“Staff is really still a significant problem for us at Big White,” Ballingall said. “We still need a lot of people. Normally, 1,200 people in a normal year. Right now we’re just over 450.”

Ballingall said while outdoor operations, grooming and ski patrol positions are filled pretty well, other parts of the resort are still in need of workers.

“We need help in the accommodation sector,” he said. “We need people to make beds, we need people to flip burgers, we need people to wash dishes, we need nighttime auditors, we need front desk people, we need people to work in our retail divisions.”

But the biggest challenge of all, he said, is finding ski instructors.

“Ski instructors probably is our biggest gaping hole,” he said. “We could hire another 150 level 2s or 3s, and level 4s. They just aren’t available in Canada.”

In addition to the staffing challenges, the resort may also be significantly impacted by the indefinite closure of the Coquihalla Highway, which is the main access route between the Okanagan and Lower Mainland.

Ballingall said 50 per cent of its overnight stays come from the Vancouver area.

“In the last week we’ve had over 70 cancellations of people,” he said.

In the North Okanagan, SilverStar Ski Resort is slated to open Dec.3. while in the South Okanagan, Apex Ski Resort has a scheduled opening day set for Dec. 11.

Baldy Mountain Resort near Oliver is scheduled to open Dec. 17.

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