Still the best terrain I have ever enjoyed. Lots of powder and tree skiing everywhere. Waiting for chair never took long. Staff friendly and professional. Only downside was lack of selection in rental shop. No snowboard boots in one son's size so he had to ski. Both boys boots old and I'll fitting. read more

Whitewater Ski Resort - Ski Resorts Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

It may have some good skiing and food but know that the resort is more aptly named Tightwater for their extreme penny pinching. With ridiculously high prices for a day & seasons pass that surpasses many resorts in BC that offer more terrain, better shuttle services, and the basics of cell service or wifi. I would highly encourage visiting a different mountain and save your time and money. read more

In the best ski season of my life I had one of the best days of the season at Whitewater. That was the third day of my ski experience here and I have to say that that the previous two days had me wondering whether my hopes of a great day three would be met (they were). The things I liked and that WH2O does well are: It's cozy, local and friendly Epic powder Not crowded I think WH2O is a great resort for local skiers in the Nelson area. I'm not sure it's a long distance destination resort. Our situation was a little different in that we were traveling the season and could afford to take a chance on a small, local ski area. It is easily the most unique ski area I explored this season. Before coming here, I studied the trail map and was not really sure what to expect. It has three chairlifts and modest vertical but lots of acreage. When the storms come through, WH2O seems to get more than it's fair share of cold, dry snow flakes. It is heavily gladed with some fine tree skiing and we were able to find some extremely steep slopes when we ventured into the trees off the Glory chair. If I lived in Nelson and could drive up to ski on the days of my choice, I would love it. There's nothing like 30cm of fresh snow to open up a mountain and make a phenomenal day. I was fortunate that I had spent two days here before the big powder hit - we knew where to go and had a blast. At 3pm, were still getting fresh tracks because the crowd was small. There is no lodging at the mountain. Nelson is a great ski town with enough food, beverage and shopping to keep you occupied while not being overly touristy. If driving from Revelstoke, be aware that you need to ride a ferry boat to get to Nelson. They run once each hour. read more

Whitewater Ski Resort - Powder & Trees - Ski Resorts Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

This is place is "old school" but in a great way. They do live up to their motto, "Pure, Simple and Real Deep". My family and I went for a week-long vacation during Christmas break. We got there late afternoon on December 27, 2012, after a three and a half hour drive from Spokane, Washington (you cross the Canada-U.S. border after a two-hour drive). We rented skis that afternoon so we can catch first chair the next day. The rental shop staff were all very helpful and friendly. On our first day skiing we got there a bit too late for first chair at 8:45a. The lines that morning were still only two or three people deep. The snow taken from the summit was hovering around 100 inches, yup you read it right, 100 inches!!! My husband and daughter are beginners, so I stayed with them in the beginner runs, which were crowd free and groomed. The skiing was fantastic even without fresh snow. By the afternoon, it was starting to get a bit more crowded, but we never had to wait more than five minutes in line. On our second day skiing, it snowed all day long. The powder snow was amazing and we skied on fresh tracks all day long. This was my family's first time skiing in fresh powder and they were blown away. We skied so many times that day, that by 2:30p, we were all tired. Of course, we squeezed a few more runs before closing time at 3:30p. They close early because it gets dark early. We took a break on our third day and went to Ainsworth Hot Springs (review to follow). The drive up, along Kootenay Lake was nothing short of spectacular. We also walked around Nelson, BC which is a quaint little town (but still invaded by Starbucks and Walmart--oh well). On our third day skiing, it was cold and foggy, but still pleasant. We did catch first chair that morning and got rock star parking (first row). Because it was December 31st, there weren't a lot of people---until three buses full of college kids showed up for 1/2 day skiing beginning at noon. Still, we never had to wait more than 5 minutes in line. My fourth day skiing was just my son and I, so we got to go on more advanced runs. On January 1, 2013, there was no one on the hill. I suspect that the town of Nelson was still recovering from New Years eve parties the night before. We pretty much skied all day long and going down, you never saw a soul. Having the run to yourself is both peaceful and creepy at the same time. We skied Summit and Glory Ridge sides, which were both spectacular. It was an unusually sunny day that day, so the snow looked pristine. My last run was at 3p and I was sorry to go. Our ski vacation was great. It doesn't get any better than Whitewater. It is nothing fancy, but it is great skiing and they have a great staff. I didn't even get to mention the food! We brown bagged everyday (skiing out of the country gets expensive, so you have to save somewhere), but we did try the poutine (french fries, gravy and cheese curds-excellent), bacon and leek soup (scrumptious), Ymir bowl (chicken curry-very good), and chili (also very good). For an American in Canada, everything seemed very expensive, except for the lift tickets which were $64 CAD for adults, $51 CAD for teens, and $32 CAD for child. We stayed at the Chancellor Suite at Prestige Lakeside Resort, which had a king bed in the bedroom, a pullout couch in the living room and a full kitchen. We paid a little more for the room (about $340 a night), but the full kitchen and view was well worth it. What a bargain for phenomenal skiing. We will most certainly be back. read more

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Though I am a passionate skier, I did not come here to ski. I came here to eat. We stopped here for lunch on our way back from spending a week in a backcountry lodge near Nelson. Our fellow lodge mates strongly encouraged us to have lunch here on our way back to 'Merica. They were right in that recommendation. Whitewater has some of the best food of any ski resort I've ever eaten at (and I have skied in other countries). It's a huge menu for a resort of its size, and pretty much everything is homemade. Our group ordered burgers and sandwiches, but they weren't run of the mill. Think bison, think homemade mushroom soup as a side, think salad with Whitewater's signature Glory Bowl dressing. Think healthy, yet oh-so-tasty. I'll admit that I had already stopped in Nelson to buy the Whitewater Cookbook, so I did have some stars in my eyes when we had lunch. But don't call me a fangirl. Call me a gourmand. Which is what you'll be when you eat at Whitewater (preferably after a morning skiing, which will justify one of the decadent looking baked goods that I as a nonskier did not partake in). read more

Visited Whitewater for one day on a road trip combined with Red Mountain (an hr away). Whitewater is definitely a resort that lives up to its name along what is known as the "powder highway". The day we skied here was after a reasonable "pow" dump the night before so conditions were pretty awesome and all the locals were out in force. After attempting to ski a run with my standard skis, I found it impossible so I rented some Powder skis which cost somewhere around $40 for the day but well worth it to experience this mountain at its best. This mountain kinda has 3 sides accessed by 3 or 4 chair lifts. Lots of tree runs and places to explore. Not sure how much grooming usually goes on as everything was under fresh pow when we got there but I think it would be a mountain better suited to a somewhat experienced skier. There are not many facilities, I think there was one Cafeteria style place in the main area at the base of two chairlifts and another on the backside at the base of that chairlift. And the closest place to stay would probably be in the town of Nelson, which is a really nice historic town. It is definitely one of the best days skiing I had in Winter 2012/13 across 11 different ski resorts but there are a couple of negatives still. We couldn't get our car up the road to the base so we had to leave the car at the turnoff and hitch up but there were plenty of locals with the same problem and many will pick you up. My other issue was with the chairlift, a couple of them are very old with just a fold down bar kinda like a swing, not like the newer chairlifts. We almost fell off the chairlift at one point and my partner had to hold me on whilst the liftie didn't even react. Overall, this is a good resort that is mostly overlooked by tourists and has some awesome skiing and a lot of snow read more

There aren't many ski hills left like this one. Being attached to the funky, hip, artsy town of Nelson has clearly had some impact, as, whilst other BC ski resorts sell out to corporations, or do the condo land-grab thing, Whitewater remains immune to big development, and continues to wow hardened ski bums, laid-back powder freaks, and locals alike. It's easy when you are blessed with, arguably, and ski folk will always argue, the best quality powder snow in Canada. Banff gets colder (a LOT colder), Whistler gets wetter (yep: a LOT wetter), Big White has poorer visibility, and everywhere else gets a lot more jammed up. It's a fair question to ask: why, if Whitewater is SO great, does it not get so busy....easy: it's not an easy place to get to. And it's small. And not well known. The lifts, lodge and everything else needs updating. And many people want to keep it like that. There are only two lifts, though 33 runs. But that's not why people go there. There is easy access to the stupendous (and deadly) back-country...and you can ski 10km down to the highway and get picked up (scooped up) by any passing local to get right back to base. I'm writing this Jan 10, and the snow accumulator is already past 5m for the season. Everyone at the place is ultra friendly (where else do you get that?), the food is not just good but verging on gourmet (gourmet? they sell the cookbooks). Don't know anything about the creche, but might try that next time for our 1 yr old. I took my 4 yr old to try out for the first time today, and he took to it like a pro, partly because the instructor was so good, I suspect. But he will struggle once he gets the hang of it; this isn't a good place for beginners. Even intermediates will tire of the ski area after one or two days - the good stuff is out-of-bounds. I'll be taking him to Rossland's Red Resort once he has got the grip. Summary - great atmosphere, world-class tree-ski powder, limited in bound range, wild back-country, best food anywhere...get there before it's bought and developed... read more

Great skiing! Would love to go back! The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 was because there were only three lifts.

Simply the best place on earth to ski. Oh and the lodge food is out of this world. The residents of Nelson, BC the most gracious people in the Cosmo ! Oh and the sweet pow ! read more