Destination Showcase: Bike Big White, British Columbia

Oct 26, 2020
by Sarah Moore  
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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.


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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!


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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.



Big White Slopestyle Pro Category


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.

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Big White mountain biking trails


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Official Location Partner of Pinkbike Academy @bikebigwhite

Huge 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.


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Big White Mountain

Author Info:
sarahmoore avatar

Member since Mar 30, 2011
1,321 articles

40 Comments
  • 37 5
 Now if only the US could make some good decisions so Canada would let us in... Maybe next summer
  • 13 1
 vice versa lmao we cant cross, been missing Vermont all year.
thing is yall have double or triple the % of infected population compared to us, yall are failing hard
  • 2 0
 @rustyglaze5: our cases our rapidly rising here too though. Best for everyone to keep the old map line closed off
  • 2 0
 @rustyglaze5: Vermont has been missing you
  • 1 0
 @luckynugget: Cripes. Sorry to hear that. I always wish the best for my Canadian friends. I hope you guys turn it around quickly.
  • 4 0
 I fully support the right of Americans to act like selfish goofs. I just wish they didn’t exercise that right continuously.
  • 16 0
 Please make the following edit: "Don't buy bottled water when you head to Big White, or anywhere, ever."
  • 10 0
 Big White is the best kept secret in bike parks right now
  • 14 1
 Define "appealing..."
  • 9 1
 @mgryoung:

See “big white”
  • 5 0
 Define "best kept secret...", a reality tv show is marketing their park weekly
  • 2 0
 Not much of a secret anymore...
  • 3 1
 @freeridebonito2: ya it’s great marketing. More people = more income = more resources to grow the hill and make it better
  • 4 0
 @ptrcarson: that’s the point. Come check it out!
  • 5 1
 @ptrcarson: "Open 'till September-ish" I wouldn't give PB too much credit for timely advertising seeing this video released the last week of October.
  • 2 0
 I do need to make a trip to the Big Fog!!
  • 2 0
 @curendero: ha! Literally the foggiest ski day of my life was at Big White. Scary, but made for great stories.
  • 2 0
 @curendero: we called it Big Whiteout since the 80’s.
  • 4 0
 @rrolly: I've experienced crazy fog elsewhere and it's hilarious when you go so slow from no vis that you fall over!! I snowboard tho.
  • 4 0
 Bas rides so smooth he doesn't need a hypersmooth GoPro to get footage like that
  • 2 0
 @connorbohlmann so true! lol Big Grin
  • 1 0
 I noticed that - i told my wife it looked like he had suspension and the other guy didnt.
  • 1 0
 @Jvisscher: or that Bas has core strength and Jason does not Smile
  • 4 0
 I learned to ski powder at Big White back in the 70's love that mountain!
  • 4 0
 @chrispilling delivering some stunning images with the PBA tup
  • 1 0
 Gracias!
  • 3 0
 They should've filmed the PBA in Valemount. That's a park that could use some publicity
  • 2 1
 Pinkbike wanted 25k from the host for the publicity
  • 1 0
 @trailblitz: a whole new level of influencer.
  • 1 0
 @trailblitz: if those 25/k are true, this would be a super bargain considering the output of the pinkbike academy!
  • 3 0
 That is a gorgeous base lodge!
  • 2 0
 Best part of episode two: The scenery and those trails. Was blown away, sigh Smile
  • 2 0
 Big White has some awesome rock lines...look forward to it every year!
  • 2 0
 From Bas's POV all I could envision was him in a Spider-man costume.
  • 1 0
 @clintrahan ... 10/10 on the photos, I assume you took them all? The first shot drew me in.
  • 1 0
 *@ClintTrahan
  • 1 0
 Considering ski hills are already opening I'll just add that it's damn good in the winter too!
  • 1 2
 welp. theres why we need to pay for trailforks now, quite the building just for the show?
  • 4 0
 Lol that's the ski chalet. It was not built for the show







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