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Big white ski resort

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hey guys,

Newbie here looking for some advice i know this might sound crazy but i have never been skiing or snowboarding before and it's about time i got on the snow!!! But obviously i'm stuck. Me and the boys wan't to go to a Canadian resort (big white ski resort) but we need to know if it is suitable for beginners and if there will be an instructor there to help us get on our way... Also some of your experiences on the slope if not another slope that you would recommend, and then when it comes to snowboards should we get some first I have seen some on a twin end snowboard for sale site or wait until we are their to decide??? loads of questions and some dumb ones i know but i want to be prepared for what's coming Very Happy

[img]https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSTVxJklO3F2HVP25Fw1pRmFBCgS8XzPg8JNJvQBexbOO-USpCQUw[/img]

Thanks guys


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sat 24-09-16 8:26; edited 1 time in total
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Only spent a week at Big White when I did a season out there but from memory its fine for beginners, the slopes around the main village centre are all easy green runs with chairs. Its a nice enough resort but a bit surprised you've picked it out as your first ever resort to go to, its not that easy to get to from the UK. What made you pick Big White?

Snow record is usually excellent too, and outside of the weekends and main holidays its very quiet, you can have whole runs to yourself. I fully expect they've got a decent instructor or two as well as its only an hour from Kelowna so get quite a few weekend and family trips.

Also, its very popular with Australians for some reason (I am sure someone else on here may know why) but the place was full of them when I was there.

The resort is also (or was) twinned with Silver Star which is reasonably close by and another nice resort. Don't expect classic alpine scenery at either of them though, or traditional historic buildings, they are both purpose built resorts.

Finally, in terms of gear, I'd look to rent when out there if I were in your position, though if you are certain you are going to keep going then getting your own boots isn't a bad start.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I will 100% be renting there then makes life easy and if it all goes wrong then i have nothing to hold onto Wink and as of the location i did a google search and it was one of the first, being as it's my first time i'm not sure what the location should be... It's good to know that outside the holidays/weekends it's empty that sounds like more my style!!!

Thanks for the reply
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(1) It would be fine for beginners, although it's not an obvious choice for UK people particularly.
(2) There are dozens of instructors, many of whom are qualified to teach snowboarding. Their school (with whom I've worked) is very good.
(3) Big White - popular with Australians; a "destination" resort; not huge; few steeps; a "family" resort so easy powder when it falls; well organized. Possibly slightly soul-less.
(4) Rent boards unless you intend to ride at the level of a day-one beginner all week! Do not buy anything until you know what it does and why it's better than the thing next to it on the shelf.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Personally I'd consider other resorts than Big White too. As Philwig says, its a little soulless, but depends what you want out of the holiday, don't expect a party town though. I'd also think it would be a bit much to try and do in a week if you consider the transfers needed to get there (likely a long drive from Vancouver unless you take an internal flight).

If you are still set on Canada instead of Europe, I'd perhaps consider somewhere like Banff/Sunshine instead. Not only will you be able to pick up a package deal a lot easier, and transfers from Calgary are also nice and quick, but you've also then got a proper town to be based in on an evening. Granted, you'll have to get the shuttle bus to the lift base each morning but that's not so bad.
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Canada is a long way to go and going to add to the price. As beginners your not going to be skiing the whole mountain. Unless there is a non-sking reason for Canada, it would provably make more sense to stay in Europe. Save the north america trip for when you are a bit more confident on snow and can really take an advantage of the mountains there. There are plenty of European resorts that fulfil your needs.

Is night life important to you? If so big sky might not be the best choice of resort.

Rent all the gear this time.

Get some lessons now in UK. Even if you just do a "learn to snowboard in one day" course it will put you in a far better position than arriving with no experience at all.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I disagree with @boarder2020, I think that North American resorts are much more on top of snowboard tuition than Europe is in general (Yes, there are some excellent European snowboard instructors available, but they are very much in the minority). I learned to ride properly in North America and having relatively quite slopes to work with, and small groups was a great benefit to the late 20-something that I was learning back in '99-00.

As for the 'learn-in-a-day' thing, do it by all means but don't think you'll come away a competent rider and not needing tuition. You may get a handle on the absolute basics but you'll most likely cover off those fundamentals in a beginners group on mountain anyway and without the crowds and limited space of a snowdome, it'll all come much more naturally.

Anyway, get your trip booked and have a great time, you're going to have a blast.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
wink Well most tourists at Big white would fly in via Kelowna which is an international airport with a 50 minute transfer to the resort, so significantly less than a transfer to Whistler or those Banff resorts. YLW is a pretty cool airport which you can get into and out of much quicker than the airports people usually think of, and the charter people fly straight into there. That's how the Australians get there, I believe. You can of course get there easy enough by road, greyhound, rental, or short-hop from bigger airports, although interior flights are somewhat weather dependent.

A good point about quality of tuition, especially for snowboard. You can rest assured that your Canadian trained instructors are unlikely to be arrogant race-trained *skiers* with ego problems and limited boarding skills. It's a customer service culture.

From what I remember the retail is all resort-owned, so it's basically all set up centrally and good quality.

Learn in a day? Not sure what they learn, but "snowboarding" takes a little longer wink
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
I think you can find competent snowboard instructors in most European resorts these days.

I wasn't suggesting lessons here instead of lessons there, but in addition. Ideally as many lessons here as possible. I agree the learn in a day things have a lot of limitations. But they give you enough basics that you should be able to strap your board on and edge down a green to get to ski school the first morning. Anything you do here provides a nice head start.

Yes, Canada is quite possibly 'better', but is it worth the extra cost and travel? I fail to believe there are not European resorts perfectly adequate for the requirements of a beginner learning to snowboard. Staying in Europe would save a lot of money, which could go towards some quality tuition both here and on the mountain. Personally I would save north America until I had more experience, as to me the main draw is all the in bounds avy controlled off piste and the huge variety of bowls, glades etc. which is not really accessible for beginners. Obviously if time/money is no issue go to north America every year!
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Looks like i have a lot of research to do on what might be better for me and the friends... While we are there we would love some scenery for pictures etc but that's not the main reason for going as long as there is snow and boards we will be pretty happy!!
Strange everyone is pushing me away from the big white and more to Europe??? What places are better in Europe???

Thanks
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
philwig wrote:
YLW is a pretty cool airport which you can get into and out of much quicker than the airports people usually think of, and the charter people fly straight into there.


Who flies direct Phil? I couldn't find a direct flight from London last year, it would be handy to know.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@floatdown, where do you live? If you live in North America, then Big White is fine.

But this forum is mostly made up of members in the UK and Europe, so we are assuming you are too. In which case for a beginner holiday it would generally seem more sensible to ski in Europe - shorter travel time and cheaper travel costs.

There are hundreds of excellent resorts across the Alps - resorts that are renowned across the world! It would be easy to find a great scenic one for a beginner trip. If you are in the UK Big White has no major advantage over anything in Europe to make it worth the travel time/cost for beginners, unless you specifically want to be in Canada for other travel/holiday reasons.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
rogg wrote:
.. Who flies direct Phil? I couldn't find a direct flight from London last year, it would be handy to know.

The only ones I heard of were for antipodean package tourists, so not scheduled. Which is why it's internationally capable I'd guess.

Although I have not checked I think YKA is not internationally capable (no customs etc); Kelowna sticks out, it may be the influence of the Oz resort owners on local politics etc.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I'm pretty biased as I taught at Big White for a number of years.

With that caveat out of the way, Biggie is an excellent place for beginner riders to start out. It's known amongst locals as Big Flat, the terrain is generally very easy and there is an easy progression from green to blue slopes and easy tree riding. Snow quality is excellent, with regular top ups of snow - powder days typically aren't huge however so it means you won't get stuck. The snow school is pretty good on the adult boarding side, instructors generally stick around for a couple of years (which is a long time on Canadian wages) so you won't get an 18 year old who did his intro course last week. As its also fairly quiet outside of peak season (Christmas/Australian school holidays) there's a good chance there will be small classes if you decide to go down that route. Lots of Australians as it used to twinned with a resort over there (Mt. Hotham).

Apres is pretty lifeless. It is all centralised in the village with no scope of getting down to Kelowna. Snowshoe Sams and Sessions are the 2 main bars, if you want to get messy - staff night is Wednesday night, Friday night is Cougar night.

You have to fly into Vancouver before transferring to Kelowna from the UK, canadianaffair.com usually do well priced flights that don't charge for hauling boards.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I thought it was known as Big White Out Very Happy
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Big Flat White Out? I still really want to go there though.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I had a great week there but it coincided with over a metre of fresh and almost no crowds as it was still early season. There are much much better resorts in western Canada though in my opinion (such as Red, Fernie), and if and when I get back to BC, Big White probably won't be on my trip list.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
floatdown wrote:
Hey guys,

Newbie here looking for some advice i know this might sound crazy but i have never been skiing or snowboarding before and it's about time i got on the snow!!! But obviously i'm stuck. Me and the boys wan't to go to a Canadian resort (big white ski resort) but we need to know if it is suitable for beginners and if there will be an instructor there to help us get on our way...


Save yourself some money and go to Europe.

Otherwise BW might offer what you want, without having the opportunity to make the flight(s) worth it, and the nightlife is centered around just one bar. So not the best choice.
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If you fly into Kelowna, you will be within 90 minutes of BW, Sun Peaks and Silver Star. All have nice villages. Yes, BW is known as Big White-out, although it is mostly below treeline so not as bad as, say, Val Thorens. The interior BC resorts get frequent small dumps of light snow which is mostly good but does not refresh the bumps that form in the trees as well as my Cascade Cement does. The copter operations are in this general area as well, but since they never get skied out, they just sit there and accumulate the great snow which then sublimates and gets even better. Silver Star is the sleeper: I can't name a place that has as many groomed blacks in North America, but also fantastic easy terrain including some green tree runs which are pretty rare. The three I mentioned are great all-around resorts, especially for newbies and families and really anybody other than young bucks looking for challenge at every turn, or nightlife, which is very quiet in all three, reflecting their strong family focus (I'm sort of done with nightlife other than the tub and 1-5 glasses of an unpretentious red, which will be local as well, BTW). They also have true ski-in & out accommodations....the place I stay at Silver Star, I walk literally zero steps...open door, step in, ski down to lift. Red Mtn, Whitewater, Fernie are also nice, but smaller and much harder for offshore folks to get to. (Similar to the Alps, what may look like a short drive may not be) As a Yank I'd say you are traveling further than you need to for great skiing, but then I'm planning a trip to Austria, so I guess I don't always follow my own advice, and besides, variety is the spice etc! Couple other thoughts: some folks will say that Whistler would be a great idea for you, but in my view its way to risky for such a long trip...lots of rain and fog which shrinks the area significantly. Take a look at Sun Valley. Usually sunny, never crowded, fantastic terrain groomed to perfection, and vast snowmaking which ensures you'll at least be able to rip groomers no matter what.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Time of year?

I'm a huge fan of Banff, can't say I've been anywhere else in Canada; I put up a very detailed Trip Report this Easter (this time skiing, but I've been boarding there twice). You can choose between Sunshine and Lake Louise once you arrive (hell, as a beginner you could go to Norquay for 3 days. I wouldn't though!)

If you go Jan/Feb, it can get VERY cold (-25C), much more so than Europe usually does. If you don't like that, wait until March. 2015/16 season was awful for snow by their standards but we were there mid-March 2016 and thought it was "fine" - but if we'd waited until the usual Easter holiday time, e.g. mid April, it probably wouldn't have been great considering how far we'd flown to get there. Obviously, if you can stay away from school holidays, hotels are cheaper and slopes are emptier. Also to be taken into consideration is your ability to tolerate jet lag, you'll be waking up at 3am and ready to collapse at 6pm. For this reason I would not do anything less than 10 days. Well you can, but you'd need to be single-minded!

Instructors IMHO are fantastic, love all the service culture. As above, Banff has a nightlife if you want it.

Another thing to help you decide Europe /N America will be the relative exchange rates.

Good luck!
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