All Resorts

Whitewater Ski Resort

Nelson, BC's mountain -- 465 inches of snow, glorious tree skiing, and a hippie ski town underneath.

Our Take

Whitewater Ski Resort above Nelson, BC is the most counterculture ski resort in North America and the statistical snowfall king of the Kootenay region: 465 inches of average annual snowfall on a mountain configuration that's designed almost entirely for tree skiing and natural terrain. The resort has 1,300 acres and three chairs, which sounds modest until you understand that every one of those acres is specifically interesting -- the Ymir Bowl, the Glory terrain, and the trees throughout the resort hold Kootenay's legendary cold smoke powder longer than anywhere else in BC. Nelson is a genuine discovery: a Victorian-era mining town on the west arm of Kootenay Lake that became a destination for American draft evaders in the 1960s and has maintained a counterculture creative community ever since. The combination of the mountain and the town is what makes Whitewater special. The skiing is world-class for its niche -- expert-weighted, tree-focused, zero snowmaking, zero grooming beyond what's necessary -- and the town has restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries, and bars that would satisfy a week of non-skiing activity. Whitewater doesn't carry Epic or Ikon affiliation and shows no signs of wanting to.

Tree skiing devoteesPowder season specialistsCounterculture ski experience seekersKootenay explorationNatural snow purists

Nerd Stats

Avg Annual Snowfall

465"

Skiable Acres

1,300

Summit Elevation

6,709'

Vertical Drop

1,300'

Fun Facts

  • Whitewater averages 465 inches of annual snowfall -- among the highest of any BC resort and a product of the Kootenay moisture convergence.
  • Nelson, BC below the mountain has a remarkable density of Victorian-era brick architecture, preserved because the town never had the money to tear it down.
  • American draft resisters moved to Nelson in significant numbers during the Vietnam War era, permanently shifting the town's cultural DNA.
  • Whitewater has zero snowmaking and minimal grooming -- it's an entirely natural snow experience, which is either a feature or a problem depending on your weather luck.