 Poster: A snowHead
|
Well, realised we're nearly coming to the end of our first week here at Big White & hadn't yet done a snow report  . And with free wifi at the hotel (and Mr C brought the laptop  ), there's really no excuse  . So here's a bit of a snow/trip report.
Arrived at Big White Sat eve with gentle snow falling  , woke up Sun morning to the same which rapidly turned to rain  . And it rained for pretty much most of that day. We also got the infamous Big Whiteout - thick clouds/fog with very limited visibility. We, and everyone else, got pretty drenched, with water inside pockets and seeping through in places. Mr C (lightweight) called it a day at lunchtime  . Me (diehard I shall enjoy my skiing holiday  ) stayed out for longer, after having a dry out in front of the fire in our room (how posh is that?? A huuuuge fireplace with a pretendy log gas fire - mmmmmmmm  ).
Monday - lovely sunny day which was great but the temps were very warm - quite a thaw going on by the afternoon. I had another of those strange experiences where a stranger approaches and says: Hi, you must be cathy . Nice to meet Riverwhy
Having a few private lessons in the afternoons. Really pleased that my instructor was saying similar things as the snoworks course, just different terminology and approach. So good reinforcement.
Tuesday - another nice day, colder but the snow quality had taken a battering. The legendary light 'hero's powder' of Big White was very wet and heavy and frozen solid into rock hard pistes . Still great skiing though & funny to hear people talking about 'icy' conditions - they haven't seen 'icy'!!
Wednesday - snow! A couple of cms during the night and about 5 cms during the day. Just what was needed although it was tricky slightly off-piste with rock hard bumps & ruts covered with a light covering of snow.
Thursday - a beautiful day and what skiing is all about. Lovely blue skies, no wind and the fresh snow from yesterday on the pistes. Perfect. My lesson was pretty tough but good - blacks, bumps & chopped up off-piste. Plus the boardercross race track! Mr C was very pleased with himself as he went down the double blacks off the Cliff 
Current snowbase about 234 cms. Forecast a bit more snow tonight/tomorrow which would be good. Then off to Sun Peaks on Saturday
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
cathy, sounds really good Great report
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Big White Out - Australia's biggest ski resort 
Say G'Day to them all from me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Headed that way Mon eve the 19th hitting Apex then headed to Sun Peaks and will decide on BigW or Silver Star after possibly Red Mtn too. Sun Peaks has had the best temps and snow from the snow reports. Skiing on free tickets hence the constant changes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| cathy wrote: |
Rob D, how did you find Big White as compared to Sun Peaks? |
I've got to say we were not overly impressed with BW, several reasons :-
6 out of 7 days were WHITEOUT, It was only the last day that we got to see the mountain. Normally this would not be a problem, but we found the signs for the pistes very confusing and poorly laid out. When the sun did come out the skiing was magnificent. I would think the skiing is probably more varied than Sun Peaks, but I have been watching the web cams and BW has been in cloud for MOST of the winter!!!
The ski school was VERY poor. My son had 5 half days booked and had 4 different instructors who all taught different things! When I spoke to the ski school they did not seem interested as they already had our money!
We were very disappointed in the White Crystal Inn, VERY shabby. Listed as ***Plus. I would say ** max. The quality of the cleaning was very poor. House keeping was young Australian boys who did the minimum possible. On the plus side the food in the Hotel Restaurant was VERY GOOD.
The whole resort has a Australian feel to it - probably as there were so many of them there!!! I've got nothing against Australian, but I was looking forward to the Canadian hospitality which we had in SP.
Food wise, we liked the Chinese Laundry. Snowshoe Sam's was average, but the Swiss Bear!!! the food was awful and the most expensive.
So the family D have already booked up for The Delta and SP next year.
I hope you're having a good time in SP
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hey cathy, I've just returned to Whistler from a bit of a BC road trip. Hit up Marmot Basin (Jasper), Sunshine & Lake Louise (Banff), Kicking Horse (Golden), White Water (Nelson), Revelstoke, Red Mountain (Rossland), Big White and Silver Star. Really liked both Red Mountain and Silver Star.
Red Mountain had some fabulous terrain and was really well groomed. It seemed much bigger than its acreage suggested. Silver Star has a similar area to Big White but the village is much smaller and the layout of the lifts and the village all seems much more thought out. The Silver Star village is very quaint but also has some lively bars. Also both these reorts were really quiet and had absolutely no queuing which is a real relief after Whistler.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rob D,
Hi Rob, I have just got back from Big White after visiting some locals, I found out it's actually owned by Australians (So is Silver Star) and heavily marketed to the Ozzie travelling set - hence the Australian vibe to the place.... Also the Swiss Bear has a reputation as being one of the worst places to eat in BC interior!
On the right day (not white-out), it's actually quite a good place to ski/board, especially if you get right to the top of the Falcon Chair etc, through the glades.. I actually thought Sun Peaks was extremely limited - although I agree with the Canadian hospitality part, very friendly! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sounding good cathy, what are the daytime temperatures like?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
Ray Zorro, on the whole this week we've had just below 0 C, a few times about -4 and a few times about +4 . Raining at the moment this evening, everything is dripping and forecast high tomorrow of about 7C. Seems like we've had all temps, but nothing really cold.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
