Big White spending $9.4M on winter and summer upgrades

Big White Ski Resort has some big plans for upgrades for winter and summer sports.

The resort is spending $9.4 million on upgrades to lifts, trail maintenance and life in the village, according to a press release issued today, June 12.

“All of these enhancements play a role in our long-term vision for modernization,” the resort’s chief operating officer Darcy Arnold said in the release. “They’re strategic investments that support how we want Big White to grow — smarter, more sustainable and always focused on our guests.”

A $3 million upgrade to the Black Forest Express lift and $300,000 for improving the Ridge Rocket lift.

Fibre optic lines are going to be installed in the main lift areas like Ridge Rocket, Bullet, Powder, Gem Lake and Black Forest to allow for better communication and digital signs.

The upgrades are going to begin this summer and the Black Forest improvements are set to be finished by the next ski season. The Ridge Rocket upgrades have been in the works for two years and are going to continue next year.

“Getting power to the top of the mountain is always a challenge — there’s rock, tough terrain and trenching,” Arnold said. “That’s why this work has to happen during the summer. Once completed, it’s a critical step toward lifting our energy systems into the future.”

For bikers in the summer the resort is spending $400,000 on four new trails that will be open this summer, $700,000 on new equipment to groom steeper slopes, along with brush cutting and fire mitigation.

The resort is spending $2 million on Village Centre Mall renovations including a new daycare and Kids’ Centre.

“Half the space will be dedicated to daycare, the other half to the Kids’ Centre,” Arnold said.

Big White is also spending $100,000 on a water line extension in Black Forest for summer trail maintenance, $600,000 for a new staircase to make it easier to get from the parking area to the main walkway, $600,000 on a renovation for the Kettle Valley Steakhouse and $700,000 for a new robotic tuning machine in the repair shop.