The Whitewater Ski Resort is a family-friendly resort located in the heart of the Selkirk Mountains. Situated deep within British Columbia’s Kootenay region, the resort is a one-of-a-kind winter destination. And for those with a passion for epic winters with massive powder dumps, this resort is a great find.
The resort features over 1,800 acres of terrain for riding with great powder that allows different kinds and styles of skiing and snowboarding. The terrain is highly dynamic and offers something for all skiers' or snowboarders’ abilities and levels. Take the scenic chairlift ride up to the top of the mountain, then descend on your snowboards or skis on expertly maintained terrain.
Visit the Whitewater Ski Resort and find out why its snow is measured in stories and not in meters or inches. Take your family or friends too as there is ample accommodation with great ski life services and facilities, catering to all holidaymakers’ needs. When you’re ready to retire after a long day shredding the famous BC’s Powder Highway snow, enjoy a cool evening over a drink with friendly locals, pleasant strangers, and friends.
Services
Mountain Features
Resort Features
Whitewater Ski Field is estimated to be open
Between the dates of December 10, 2022, and estimated to close on April 3, 2023, for the 2022-23 season.
Ski life Services at Whitewater Ski Resort open as early as 8:30 AM and the last to close is at 4:00 PM.
The resort features 1,184 acres of skiable terrain, with 82 runs situated on a 623-meter vertical. The highest lifted point on the resort is 2,045 meters while the lowest is 1,422 meters above sea level.
The resort’s dynamic terrain caters to all skier and snowboarder abilities and levels. It consists of great groomed runs, chutes, open bowls, steeps, and tree skiing. The ski area has a U-shape divided into two main areas serviced by chair lifts. The lifts provide access to great snow fields upslope, where you can find plenty of lines and groomed trails. The sunnier side is known as Silver King and has more beginner slopes that weave downslope. The complementary less sunny side is known as Summit and has more challenging terrain.
The newer terrain on Whitewater can be accessed using the Glory Ridge triple chairlift and has more blue runs, single and black diamond runs, glades moguls, and fantastic double black tree skiing.
The resort’s official trail statistics are as follows:
The resort’s beginner area is a dedicated zone where novice skiers and snowboarders can learn to ski and snowboard undisturbed. It is conveniently located near the day lodge and is served by easy-to-use lifts. Confident beginners can progress to the Silver Chair that takes them to the sunny Silver King area with steeper and longer beginner runs.
Accessed via the Silver King chair, the resort’s blue runs are perfect snow playgrounds for intermediates of all levels. Some of the runs are quite long, especially for less experienced intermediates, but they get pretty good rest as they ride up on the chairlift.
On the Summit area, there are great blue-groomed runs with a good pitch where confident intermediates can rack up some fast downslope descents. There are 11 intermediate runs that are not too steep and provide great riding for all levels of intermediates. Some of these runs are ungroomed and feature boulders where daring intermediates can practice tricks such as launching themselves high up and catching some air.
The Whitewater Ski Resort has a small terrain park that has various levels of difficulty. It has great features that include jumps and rails. There’s also a natural terrain park in the Summit area with plenty of boulders ideal for hucking off.
Advanced terrain is situated on the less sunny side called Summit. This area has various brands of challenging terrain that include tree skiing with thrilling bumps. The Summit area has great snow quality and single black runs. The runs become gnarlier as you schuss downslope.
The black run under the chairlift has a steep pitch where riders can reach incredible downhill speeds. The Glory Ridge area has great single black diamond runs where advanced skiers can ski or snowboard through moguls, trees, and glades.
Daring expert riders can find thrilling slopes near the Glory Ridge section accessed via the Summit and Glory ridge chairs. Here, there are adrenaline-spiking tree skiing opportunities. To the right of the Glory Ridge chair are black diamond slopes with great snow quality and reasonably wide-spaced trees and deep galleys.
The resort’s 1,184 acres of skiable snow playground are served by 4 lifts. These include 3 chairlifts and 1 rope tow. They allow riders to conveniently access their desired parts of the slopes according to their ability and level.
The named lifts include:
You can access the Whitewater Ski Resort’s slopes with tickets and passes that are relatively inexpensive, compared to most ski resorts in BC. The tickets can be conveniently accessed through the resort’s website. You can also get your passes directly at the resort’s ticketing outlets.
Remember to take advantage of pre-season ticket sales and early bird offers. Also getting your tickets online helps you avoid long ticket passes at the resort as you can just collect your physical passes in designated locations.
You may buy the following kinds of tickets:
Curious to know what the snow is like today at Whitewater Ski Resort?
The following is a live Snow Cam feed of the slopes at the Whitewater Ski Resort. We’ve curated the best views to show you the current snow conditions from around the resort.
The Whitewater Ski Resort is known for its great snow. It has a fantastic snow volume that creates the perfect winter wonderland conditions. The resort is well known for its quality and fresh deep powder. The ski field is friendly to beginners and kids.
The abundant snow is a great boon for powder chasers but can also create detrimental conditions. To maintain safety standards, the resort has an efficient avalanche warning system and encourages skiers and snowboarders to observe all set s
In the following live graphic, you can see the currently estimated snow depth for the Whitewater Ski Resort.
Knowing the projected weather conditions at and around the resort can help you plan your trip better. The following graphic shows an updated forecast for the Whitewater Ski Resort’s weather.
The resort has no on-mountain accommodation. However, there are ample accommodation options at Nelson Town that cater to all holidaymakers’ needs. Here, you’ll find deluxe accommodations as well as budget-friendly options. There are many great restaurants that serve tasty local and international dishes.
Nelson Town is about 19 kilometers away from the ski field. It is a tranquil place with a relaxed, yet cosmopolitan aura. It traces its origins to its mining roots from the turn of the century. The old buildings are reminiscent of its heritage and make for great picturesque views, especially on Baker Street. Nelson is a colorful town as evidenced by its old-style buildings and its people are also welcoming and friendly.
The resort also has great ski life facilities that are adequate to cater to its patronage. Most of these are contained within the day lodge. They include a retail shop, ski, and snowboard rentals, and a ski school.
Some great places to check out for staying and dining while at the resort include:
The resort has no on-mountain accommodation. However, there are ample accommodation options at Nelson Town that cater to all holidaymakers’ needs. Here, you’ll find deluxe accommodations as well as budget-friendly options. There are many great restaurants that serve tasty local and international dishes.
Nelson Town is about 19 kilometers away from the ski field. It is a tranquil place with a relaxed, yet cosmopolitan aura. It traces its origins to its mining roots from the turn of the century. The old buildings are reminiscent of its heritage and make for great picturesque views, especially on Baker Street. Nelson is a colorful town as evidenced by its old-style buildings and its people are also welcoming and friendly.
The resort also has great ski life facilities that are adequate to cater to its patronage. Most of these are contained within the day lodge. They include a retail shop, ski, and snowboard rentals, and a ski school.
Some great places to check out for staying and dining while at the resort include:
The ski resort is located in Kootenay in British Columbia Canada. It is 15 minutes to the southeast of Nelson Town. The ski field is also situated in the foothills of Ymir Mountain which is in the Selkirk Mountains.
The Whitewater ski field and the town of Nelson, are to the southeast of BC. They are both 624 kilometers away from Calgary and 657 kilometers away from Vancouver.
The closest airport to the ski resort is Castlegar Regional Airport which is about 40 minutes from the town of Nelson. The airport offers daily flights from Calgary and Vancouver.
The Canadian International Airport is located near Cranbrook and also offers flights from Calgary and Vancouver. It also has flight services to and from local Canadian and international destinations. Delta Airport is 3 hours away from the resort and has flights from Salt Lake City and other regional airfields.
You can also ingress the resort through Spokane International Airport in the USA which is 4 hours away.
A rental car is the best transfer option as it gives you the flexibility to visit more places en route. You’ll find great deals on car rentals in the airports mentioned and in Vancouver.
If you’re coming from the West, getting to Nelson is through Highways 3 and 6, while from the south is via Highway 31. However, before embarking on your journey check the road conditions and weather forecast as some mountain access roads may be closed if there’s excess snow or an avalanche warning. If coming from the west and the Kootenay Pass is closed due to the risk of avalanches, you may take the Kootenay Lake Ferry from Highway 3A.
Sometimes Kootenay Pass may be closed. In that case, you can arrive via the Osprey Ferry which operates 24 hours a day and takes about 35 minutes to cross.
To get to the Whitewater Resort from Nelson, you can take Highway 6 which leads to Salmo then take note of the signs leading you to Whitewater. When you get to Whitewater Ski Hill Road, take the 6-kilometer unpaved road to get to the ski field’s parking lot, near the day lodge.
The shuttles operate between Whitewater and Nelson. The ski resort offers 2 affordable shuttle rides every morning to catch the lifts before they open, and 2 in the afternoon to return to Nelson.
The resort sits on the famous British Columbia Powder Highway with Ymir Mountain (which is a part of the Selkirk Mountains) overlooking the resort.
The resort receives an impressive average seasonal snowfall of about 12 meters of high-quality, dry BC snow.
Whitewater Ski Resort features about 1,184 acres of skiable terrain, situated on a vertical drop of about 623 meters.
Yes, there is ample onsite parking at the resort, conveniently located near the day lodge and at the base of the Glory Ridge Chairlift.
Yes, the resort has great beginner slopes where novices can learn to ski or snowboard on designated runs. There are also ski and snowboard rental and sales services as well as a ski school.
Yes, the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation requires that all vehicles heading up the alpine areas have snow tires and fitting snow chains.