Big White cuts golf course, 11 new lifts from 20-year plan

Big White’s big expansion plans have shrunk, and that means hopes for a golf course are dashed.

The mountain resort’s long-term plan, initially released five years ago, has been updated with pared down projects. The newly-drawn plan removed the golf course, 11 envisioned lifts and more than 100 trails from what was included in the 2020 plan.

The coming years at Big White Resort near Kelowna could still include an expanded mountain bike park, zip lines, an alpine coaster and room to double the daily number of skiers on the mountain.

That’s according to plans released last month, which outline an additional 11 lifts and an increase of 312 hectares of terrain for skiing. Currently, Big White has 15 chair lifts and 607 hectares of ski terrain. It can comfortably host around 9,400 skiers per day, but expansion plans could see capacity for almost 18,000.

The resort also aims to more than double bed space, between homes and hotels, to 20,600.

Big White’s updated plan hasn’t been approved by the province, but it was adjusted after engagement with the public and government from a vision that could have seen an 18-hole golf course, a total 37 lifts and more than double its current ski area over 60 years.

Much of the cuts to ski terrain were due to an expansion to the ecological reserve on the north side of the resort, removing massive sections of the east peak from the plans. That peak is a popular back country ski area and previously saw plans for more than half a dozen chair lifts, but those proposed lifts were all removed this year.

Two other chairs below Gem Lake Express, west of Big White Road, were also removed from the plan.

Among new amenities and densified housing, the overall expansion plan would still focus on all-year activities and a doubling of its capacity.

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