BIKE BIG WHITE Official Location Partner of Pinkbike Academy
Life is good in the Thompson Okanagan.
Filming for the first season of Pinkbike Academy took place at the
Official Location Partner of Pinkbike Academy: Big White Ski Resort in Kelowna, British Columbia. Our all-Canadian cast was treated to a variety of trails in the bike park, which includes everything from rocky, technical features to smooth flow and jumps of all sizes.
Family-owned Big White is well known as a destination for skiers and snowboarders in the winter with an average of 750cm of dry, fluffy Okanagan Champagne Powder yearly, but in the past couple of years, they've made a big push to develop a bike park. The bike park opened in the summer of 2017 with just a handful of trails, but there have been more added every year and now it's a destination for mountain bikers and skiers alike.
In the video below, Bas Van Steenbergen shows Jason Lucas a bunch of the new flow and jumps of all sizes on some of the park's best trails. Look forward to seeing more of Jason Lucas in the Pinkbike Academy series as he is the show's host... That means he lets nine contestants know they're going home and tells one that they've won the $25,000 and a pro contract with Orbea.
Luckily for our contestants, who were put through a series of gruelling challenges, we had gorgeous weather for the duration of our stay at Big White Bike Park. In addition to fun trails, gorgeous alpine views, and pristine mountain lakes, the facilities we had to host everyone were also top-notch. The contestants pretty much got to have a two-week summer camp at one of British Columbia's best bike parks.
Fun fact: Don't buy bottled water if you head to Big White. The tap water at Big White comes directly from Rhonda Lake, which is located near the top of the Bullet Chairlift. It’s 6,600 feet above sea level and holds about 75 million gallons of fresh, clean mountain water. Recent tests done on Big White’s water found that it was cleaner than the distilled water that can be purchased in local supermarkets!We may have had some seasoned riders for Pinkbke Academy, but Big White is also a great location for newer riders as well with rentals available for hire, free ride guides, and two skills park areas to help riders warm up, build their bike park skills, and gain some confidence before heading out to the park.
Last season, Bike Big White introduced the Friday Night Freeride Sessions, an all ages activity that had beginners and pros alike hitting the features at the Slopestyle Centre. There are also Toonie Races on Friday Nights which are a great way to get your start in racing. Plus, the series raised nearly $500 in support of the local Kelowna trails in 2020.
There's also lots of stuff to do at Bike Big White on your days off from riding as well, including scenic chairlift rides, hiking, summer festivals and many outdoor dining options. If you time it right, you might even be able to catch the Invitational Slopestyle and Freeride Days, hosted by Tom Van Steenbergen. You can see the world's best throwing down some insane tricks during the Big White Slopestyle
here.
Want to sneak some riding into your day and work remotely from Big White? Often, it can be hard to find reliable internet in remote communities, but with Canada’s fastest internet (based on the national average)* on a direct, 100% fibre optic connection throughout the resort accommodation, the Village and at the day lodges, you can still make those Zoom video calls between bike park laps.
That also means that there's free internet available in the Village Centre Mall for your Trailforks download. If you are in need of a printed version of the map however, the ticket desk will provide an 8.5x11 paper version upon request. There are also on-hill map signs that can be found in the Village Centre and at the top of the Bullet Express Chair.
Big White mountain biking trailsHuge thanks to the brands who made this show possible!
Shimano, Orbea, Fox Racing, Fox Factory, Big White, GoPro, Garmin,
Pro Bike Gear, Feedback Sports, Maxxis, Stan's NoTubes, Ride Concepts, and Trailforks.
thing is yall have double or triple the % of infected population compared to us, yall are failing hard
See “big white”