Whitewater

Whitewater's summit reaches 2,045 metres, dropping 623 vertical metres to a base at 1,422 metres across 82 runs spread over roughly 958 hectares near Nelson, British Columbia. Terrain splits 48 per cent advanced, 31 per cent intermediate, 11 per cent expert and 10 per cent beginner, with average annual snowfall of roughly 7.1 metres. Four lifts, including one double chair, one quad chair and one triple chair, serve the mountain alongside one surface lift.

Whitewater holds a genuinely distinctive place among Kootenay resorts as a community-built ski area with a heavily advanced-weighted natural bowl, developed almost entirely through local volunteer effort in Nelson. Its comparatively compact lift network and considerable snowfall have built Whitewater's reputation as an authentic, uncommercialised mountain experience.

Businessmen Tex Mowatt and John Stanger discovered the natural ski bowl by motorcycle, and in 1969 partnered with the Silver King Ski Club to begin developing the basin. Funding came from a provincial government grant, a bank loan, a local initiative programme and the people of Nelson, who donated goods and services and volunteered close to 9,000 hours of work over the following five years.

By 1973, the resort had four runs, lift lines and a parking area, and a lodge designed by a local architect was completed in October 1974. Two Riblet chairs, the Hummingbird and Summit chairs, were installed in 1975, followed by a t-bar. A local group purchased the ski area from the Ski Society in August 1986, before Shelley and Mike Adams bought the resort in May 1997, and Knee Deep Development Corp took over in August 2008. Current owners Andrew Kyle and Mitch Putnam continue to operate Whitewater today. Adult daily tickets run from 99 to 115 Canadian dollars.