Me and two of the boys made a day trip to Whitewater from Red mtn one day in February 2024. Kind of a bad El Niño year for Red so we were pleasantly surprised by the fantastic pow we found at Whitewater. Theres not much as far as amenities, 1 lodge / restaurant at the base and theres 0 lodging so most come from the nearby town of Nelson. We only drove through nelson but it seemed like they’d have everything you’d need there and plenty of lodging opportunities. From Red mtn it’s about an hour and fifteen mins but it’s a fairly scenic route and you can take a different route back which only adds 3 mins and takes you through all different towns and views, worth the detour for a vacationer. Now on to the ratings...

I had to give Whitewater a 5 for snow… Crappy El Niño year and somehow they was so much deep snow in the trees. Literally every run, so much so, that we couldn’t pick one run that was better than the rest. They were ALL good and the pow was deep! Lower mountain struggled with some rain and there were definitely some sketchy obstacles down there but it can’t touch that 5/5.

For uncrowded I give it a 5, we went on a Thursday and rolled right onto the lift all day. I could see it being busier on a weekend with all slow 3 seater lifts and one 4 seater but we felt like the only people on the mountain the entire day.

Lifts I give them a 2. As mentioned, they’re all fixed grip 3 and 4 seaters. No bubbles, no gondolas. They get the job done, and theres a new lift on the Silver King side that gives you a couple hundred extra feet of vertical but again, just a fixed grip triple.

The only piste trails I rode were traversing sections to get to the trees I wanted to ride and at the bottom back to the lift… so take my rating of 2 with a grain of salt.

The off-piste at Whitewater is some of the best off-piste ive ever ridden. The pillow fields, the pow, the steep trees, the mellow trees, the trees with drops and pillows… It was an absolute blast. We rode 3 runs down each of the 3 faces testing trees from left to right and found each run to be as good if not better than the last. 5/5

This is a pretty gnarly mountain I can’t imagine it’s great for kids. In the lodge in the morning, most people had avalanche gear on… including some kids we saw… I wouldn’t bring my kid here any time soon. 1/5

For the powder hound this place is a great value. Lift tickets were under 90 USD and there hadn’t been a significant snowstorm for quite awhile prior so to have snow that good still ranks high on my Value ranking. 4/5

And lastly, nightlife… absolutely nothing AT Whitewater, but plenty of great bars in Nelson nearby.

Would I go back? Hell yea. And I’d only recommend it to the powderhounds.
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Best ski hill in bc
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Absolutely amazing powder both on off piste and so quiant and quiet, almost no queues and jumping queues isn't frowned upon, everyone so nice.
Not ski in ski out, but the town is a true, original ski town.
Watch out for the castlegar airport being snowed in, they don't always clear the runway, so best to pick a different one a drive or shuttle there.
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"WH20" is a fun no BS resort. Reminiscent of Revelstoke, the tree skiing here has it's own unique character and thrills. The backcountry access from top of the silver king lift makes the Whitewater experience a special one - hiking to the Ymir Bowl (avalanche risk permitting) is a highlight. The in bounds skiing is not extensive, but what it lacks in size is made up for by quality: there are few "filler" runs.

The ratio of touring boots to fur collared hoods is a very healthy one. The base lodge is perfunctory and the cafe bar makes good(ish) coffee. There certainly aren't any frills. The drive from Nelson takes about 20 mins and even after heavy snowfall the road up the hill was well ploughed and easy to drive up. Nelson is a fun town with quite a few good bars and eateries, the recently opened Broken Hill on Baker St was the pick.
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LOVED IT!
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Whitewater Ski Resort and the town of Nelson combined are the capital of the BC Powder Highway! This trip to Whitewater just reinforced how good some of the steep tree skiing is and there was a little fresh powder so that we could fully relish the amazing terrain. There were a few more people around than we’d previously encountered, and it wasn’t that surprising that it’s grown a little in popularity. It’s still a refreshing alternative to the crazy-busy high profile resorts on the Ikon and Epic Pass.

It seems uncharacteristic for us powder hounds to get that excited about a ski resort cafeteria, but it would be remiss of us not to mention the food again. It continues to be exceptional, and you can get a really nice coffee which is something you don’t take for granted in North America.

The town of Nelson is also a key part of the allure of Whitewater, even though it’s changed a little over the years and become more swanky than bohemian. We met a few key Nelson dignitaries who were trying to do a sales job on us about the merits of the town. We laughingly told them that they were preaching to the converted and that we’ve nominated Nelson previously for the USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards for the best ski town in North America.

Nelson BC also makes an ideal base for other powder hound pursuits. We went cat skiing with Valhalla Powdercats and you can see our review here. A major highlight was a day out with Stellar Heli Skiing and you can check out our review here.

We stayed at The Adventure Hotel which was a great pick for decent accommodation, good service and a great restaurant, pub and café onsite.

For our thoughts on the pros and cons of Whitewater check out our Whitewater Ski Resort overview and also see our Canada ski resort ratings to see how it compares.
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This is a skiers mountain. No shops, no condos , no egos...just deep snow, good food, and friendly people. Make sure you have a four wheel drive and if you have room pick up someone up at the hitchhikers spot...they will offer great hill info. Guessing the average local skier is 20-40 , and can ski 10x better us. I would not recommend to novice skiers or groomer skiers. We noted very few baby boomers ski here. Nelson is nice with plenty of accomadation options. Hailing from MI, my kids had a blast at Whitwater. The lifties and local skiers made a big deal over the kids, telling us where to ski and high fiving the kids when came in all powder coated, that's pretty cool to a 10 year old. Great trip.
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The snow is great, but the lifts are slow. Can’t complain because it leads to freshies all day! You can stay 15 minutes down the hill in Nelson. The town is fun and there’s a decent amount of stuff to do. The terrain is fun and there is lots of good in bounds skiing. I love the place and keep returning! The lift lines are generally nonexistent, but on a holiday they can be 10-15 minutes on a bad day.
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I have only been to Whitewater for one day during a bit of a ski road-trip so I am no expert..but I loved everything about it.

I'm not sure which is more awesome or more important. The mountain or the people. Lets start with the people and the feel since I dont actually know much about the mountain.

This is a community, small town, family mountain. Everyone knows each other. EVERYONE. In the lift line you'll meet Bill who is a lifty, whose kids are taught by Patty at the elementary school in town, whose husband is a firefighter in Nelson and whose sister works in the cafe on the mountain. It is awesome. The only thing that could make this place more classic is if a mean ski patroller named Chad tried to race you for your girlfriend. Everyone is incredibly friendly. There are barely any lines even when there are lines because everyone knows each other and just lets you cut in. Its the most laid back, easy going, vibe I've ever experienced at a mountain. And the townies shred. Having an amazing mountain in their back yard has created a whole town full of amazing riders. Noone has egos. Everyone here is good. Really good. Everyone knows someone who is sponsored or was pro or ran a cat skiing operation. Its tough to impress them with anything other than positive vibes. Its obvious why people move to Nelson.

As for the mountain, its great. I only spent one day riding but the pow was deep. Lots of untracked everywhere. Some local immediately took me on a hike to some side country. The trees were awesome. The lifts are old but M-F that doesn't matter as there are no lines. They just put in a new lift that opens this season 2017/2018. There is no real base area. There is free very convenient open huge public lot right at the base to park. People drink, smoke, get ready, laugh, its old school skiing. No paying to park, no fancy base or shuttles. Park, gear up, hustle the kiddos to the lift. The amenities at the base are sparse but totally adequate. The food is so old school ski mountain. Just a huge hall filled with picnic tables and a GREAT cafe. Kids from town with friends, elderly who have ridden WW for 30 years, parents, and powder highway shredders all have to mingle elbow to elbow and its awesome. The locker rooms smell like old hockey locker rooms. The base boards are beaten to hell from years of skis and boots. Its awesome. If you have that itch to go back in time and experience that old school awesome ski mountain and town from a time past Whitewater is the place.
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We came to Whitewater on a day where the snow report stated only a few cm of fresh. Who would have thought that the cumulative snow over the previous week was essentially untouched and the place was deserted (mid week). Knee to waist deep super light powder greeted us and wow,what a great few days.

Crappy old lifts are meaningless in Whitewater. It doesn't matter. The off piste skiing here is absolutely superb, particularly mid week with some fresh. with only three lifts, holidays and weekends can get a bit overwelming with people, but the lift lines are super patient and polite.

The food at the base lodge is astoundingly good - no wonder they win awards. nearby Nelson is an interesting town and worthy of a few nights stay.
If one is contemplating travelling around BC, a Powder Hwy round trip that includes Apex, Baldy, Red and culminates in Whitewater highlights some of the world's best 'small' powder ski resorts.

Do yourself a favour, ski Whitewater now or else you will only be a year older when you do! (Thanks Warren)
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