Mountain Layout—Snowboarding

Riders have a good time most anywhere on the mountain. Particularly popular is the Sun-Rype Bowl and the adjacent Black Bear run, both reached by the Gem Lake Express. The bowl is a big gentle swoop of a run that can get you into some trees known as the Black Bear Glades. Also reached from Gem Lake Express is the single-black Blackjack, a good long fall-line run. The only double-blacks are reached by the Alpine T-bar, which many snowboarders find difficult to ride. The double chair to The Cliff and East Peak areas also have some great runs. There are some gentle ways down from the top of the T-bar if you change your mind, but at least have a look on the way up to the right into Parachute Bowl.

Parks and pipes
Big White invested $2.5 million to build TELUS Park, with an on-mountain lodge and chairlift, so it can be used as a training and competition facility for snowboarding and freeskiing. But don't worry, ordinary folks can also use it.

The 50-acre park area centralizes the terrain parks, rail garden, pipes, boardercross and family fun-race area. An Olympic-sized, 500-foot-long superpipe, with 17-foot transitional walls, meets World Cup FIS and X Games standards. If that's too intimidating, try the 400-foot-long halfpipe with 12-foot walls. Look for an intermediate terrain and rail park, an advanced terrain and rail park and a boardercross course capable of hosting Olympic FIS qualifying events. Within the terrain parks, you'll find assorted mailbox sliders, step-up jumps and hips. Rails include minis, flats, rainbows, kinks and wide rails.

Snowmaking covers the park area, making it easier to open everything earlier in the season. The park is lit for night skiing and riding and the on-mountain lodge here—with food and beverage facilities, large deck and washroom—provides a place by the park to take a break.

Photos courtesy of Big White/Lindsay Bennett