Each year I take my sweetheart Kim Duess to the Okanagan Valley to experience the wicked skiing at Big White Resort. Big White is one of our favourite winter destinations and it’s a place we look forward to visiting each year.
The sun was just setting as we arrived and settled into our luxurious town home at Black Bear Estates. It did not take us long to throw down our bags, jump into the hot tub and enjoy the amazing views of the Monashee Mountain Range off in the distance.
After a good soak, we made our way down Lara’s Gondola to the Happy Valley Lodge to meet up with good friends for dinner at the Kettle Valley Steakhouse. They live in Kelowna and get to enjoy Big White throughout the season, so we always hook up so they can show us their secret powder stashes.
The next morning we awoke to brilliant sunny skies and met up at the six-person Snow Ghost Express Chair. The views from Big White on a sunny day are incredible and we dialed a few warm up runs down Perfection and Exhibition, two mildly steep groomers, to get our legs revved up for the day.
Even though there had been no new snow over the last few days the cold temperatures had kept the snow ideal with soft pack powder conditions. We began the long traverse over to the Gem Lake Express to enjoy the open gladed skiing in Sun Rype Bowl. Here you can rip through huge snow encrusted trees, called snow ghosts, before flying down any one of the black diamond steep runs that had been meticulously groomed to perfection.
After our early morning start we made our way into the Copper Kettle Grill for a delicious lunch of soup and sandwiches before hitting the slopes again. Apres-ski was put on hold for a bit so Kim and I could enjoy a round at the Mega Snow Coaster Tube Park. This is one of our favourite non-skiing events and just one of the many things that keeps the kids, big and small, entertained all day!
A quiet romantic dinner at home was just what we needed after an epic day and it allowed us to regenerate for some late night partying at Snowshoe Sam’s. As we partied the snow started to fall and by morning it had amounted to 10 centimetres of light fluffy powder. We spent the day skiing the trees off the Black Forrest Express Chair and Gem Lake and were rewarded with fresh tracks all day.
If you’re looking for the ultimate family vacation or a romantic get-a-way just for the weekend then put Big White Resort on your list of Must-Do’s. www.bigwhite.comor 1-800-663-2772
Dave has travelled the world to challenge some of its toughest races. He has raced in over 400 events throughout his career, and hopes his passion will excite you to get involved in your own wild adventures. Visit
www.noronalife.com
for
more info.
