Snowy British Columbia Ski Resort Details Offseason Projects
Nelson, British Columbia — After two seasons with terrain expansions, Whitewater is continuing to improve its terrain and infrastructure ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Last week, Whitewater Mountain Resort discussed the projects they’ve been working on this offseason. Cleaning up their trails was a big focus. Glading and limbing work has occured on Sluice Box (skier’s right), Money Trees, and Secret Stash. Equipment work has been done on the Upper Sluice Box trail to allow groomers to lay down the corduroy this winter. This will allow for a groomed trail from the top of the Raven chair.
Improving the parking areas was another focus. The purchase of a new loader will enable them to clear snow more quickly from parking areas. Parking Lot 2 has been expanded, and the two parking zones inside of that lot have been connected.
Other upgrades include lift renovations, a makeover of the coffee shop, and a refurbishment of the bathrooms in the main lodge.
The Expansions
The 2020s at Whitewater have been marked by growth. In 2023, the new Raven chair allowed for a terrain expansion with 14 new trails and 123 skiable acres. The top terminal of Raven is further up the hill than the existing Silver King chair, which was previously the only chairlift that serviced this terrain pod.
During the 2024-25 season, Whitewater added a 60-acre expansion with advanced and expert terrain. Known as the Goats area of the Ymir Bowl, this previously out-of-bounds terrain is now patrolled, providing increased safety for skiers and riders.
Access Road
The road to Whitewater is a pretty bumpy experience, so one improvement that could be on the way is paving the access road.
My Nelson Now reports that Whitewater Mountain Resort wants to have its access road paved. However, the road is operated by the province and maintained by a local plowing company. The ski resort has asked the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) to endorse its bid to receive funding for the project. While 4 kilometers out of 10 are paved, the remaining 6 kilometers are gravel. This leads to sketchy conditions during ski season and runoff periods.
“The negative impact of the conditions of the road affects not only our over 300 employees and thousands of guests per day, but the community of Nelson and the RDCK area as a whole,” said Mike Rubenstein, the General Manager of Whitewater Mountain Resort.
The goal would be to pave the final 6 kilometers of the road. With a cost of $8 million CAD, Whitewater is pursuing funding from three local programs that could help finance construction. Whitewater plans to use $2 million CAD of its own money to finance the project.
Image/Video Credits: Whitewater Mountain Resort
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