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Another successful season is in the books up at Big White Ski Resort.
Senior Vice President Michael J Ballingall called the 2018/2019 winter season "one of the most successful in years in history" during which Big White broke a single day attendance record on New Year's Day when 70,000 runs were skied.
"We're growing step in step with the popularity of Kelowna International Airport," said Ballingall.
"We now have increased service from Toronto as well as internationally from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and a new service out of Auckland."
There was plenty of fresh powder to be had, between Feb. 21 and Feb. 22 the mountain received a whopping 28 centimeters of snow.
During that same week of Feb. 18 to Feb. 24, the mountain received 90 cm of fresh powder.
Not surprisingly, February was the best month for snow with 170 cm of the white fluffy stuff falling over 28 days.
"We're blessed by Mother Nature up at Big White," said Ballingall.
"Storms from the north and the south pick up that moisture from Okanagan Lake and dump it all on us."
The coldest day on the hill occurred on Feb. 6 where the temperature dipped to -22°C at 5:30 a.m. in the village.
That was balanced with a balmy 9°C morning on March 20.
Big White boasts being the second largest user of working holiday visas, behind Whistler Blackcomb, with employees hailing from 27 different countries.
However, the resort also praises its loyal locals, who make up one of the largest bases of season pass holders in Canada.
"Our locals act as ambassadors, they love to show off the resort to guests," explained Ballingall.
"They share a ride, share a run, share a beer or dinner and those guests keep coming back because of those relationships."
Big White has also announced that the resort will continue to stay open until the third weekend of April after a successful initial trial run this year.
"Staying open until the third week was a bit of a gamble, but we're going to lock that down," added Ballingall.
The mountain will begin gearing up for the summer season, which includes the second annual slopestyle mountain bike festival.
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