Life Hacks: Stress free skiing this holiday season

It’s that time of year. You wake to a 20cm powder alert, but you’ve got a banging headache from too many mulled wines at the staff Christmas party last night, and you still have lots of things to buy and lots of things to do before the big day.

The Holidays are a busy time for everyone. Prepping for your entire family to descend for several days can be very stressful. The time that doesn’t need to be so stressful though, is when you manage to grab your gear and head up to the mountain.

Whitewater’s busiest time every year is during the school Christmas holidays. But we want your visit to the ski hill to be about chilling out. We want you to be able to disconnect from the frantic pace of last-minute shopping on Baker Street, and to reconnect with what really matters: your family, your friends and the incredible landscape and snow which surround us.

In order to help you to do that; to arrive excited to get on the snow, and to leave tired, happy and satisfied, we’ve created the ultimate guide to making the most of your holiday time at Whitewater. See below for our top tips.

1. Getting Here Whitewater has ample parking, but sometimes it gets pretty busy. If you want to avoid the stress of finding somewhere to park, jump on the Whitewater shuttle bus which runs twice daily from Nelson. Book your seat online to guarantee yourself a spot. Alternatively, carpool. The front half of our top parking lot is a High Occupancy Vehicle zone – meaning that any cars which have more than 3 people in, get priority parking spots. Grab some friends or make some new ones with Kootenay Rideshare.

2. Avoid the line-ups If you need to buy a lift ticket for the day, Guest Services is not the only place to do it. We can print tickets in the morning at the Glory Lodge and even the day before at the Downtown Office in Nelson*. If you’re getting a lesson from snow school or need rentals, don’t line up twice! Head there first - we can print your lift tickets at those places too.

3. Plan your lunch A day at Whitewater isn’t complete without grabbing some delicious food on the mountain. The Fresh Tracks café tends to be busiest between 12pm-1:30pm, so if you want to make the most of your time on the slopes, order food from the Glory Lodge, the express café downstairs or maybe just take your break earlier or later!

4. Find the hidden, quiet spots There’s a lot of absolute gems to be found in the Whitewater terrain. Some you’ll stumble across, some you might need to be taken to. If you’re new to the area, are visiting for a few days or just want some fresh eyes to show you the wonders of our mountain, book a guide or a take a tour. The Mountain Hosts, IN DEEP guides and Beyond the Piste program cover all budgets and abilities.

5. Know what’s going on On Sunday December 22nd, Santa is coming to the hill – check the event page here. On Christmas Day, the downtown office will be closed and there will be no public shuttle bus. Lifts will be running 11am-3pm, the lodge will be open 10:15am-4pm and lift tickets will be 20% off. On New Year’s Day, the downtown office will be closed.

Christmas time needn’t be stressful. All you need to do is get off your phone, get on your skis and get into the mountains. See you up here soon. Happy Holidays from everyone at Whitewater.

*Lift tickets are always non-refundable. Please be aware of this if you choose to buy your ticket the day before.

Written by Bex Dawkes Cover photo by Bryan Ralph