Featured Image: Sam Dresser | Skier : Seamus Slattery | Location : Whitewater, BC
Whitewater Mountain Resort is well known to skiers across the continent, and perhaps the world over. Located just southeast of Nelson, British Columbia, Whitewater is a bona fide freeride haven; the home mountain of Sam and Adam Kuch, with over 470 inches of annual snowfall and over 2,000 vertical feet to explore.
There's no cell service, the base lodge is as welcoming as it gets, and you wouldn't be able to find every cliff here if your life depended on it. Yet somehow, the resort just keeps getting better, as Whitewater is set to introduce new terrain during the coming winter, along with ample slope work, infrastructure improvements and lift maintenance conducted this summer.
For the 2026/27 season, Whitewater is introducing 190 acres of new terrain. The additional skiing will be located between Giddy Up Gully and Sproulers. Dubbed Short Side, the expansion adds six new runs to the Whitewater trail map.
Whitewater was already noteworthy. The new terrain only solidifies its status
Photo: Jordan Grant-Krenz | Skier: Seamus Slattery
While this terrain has been accessed by locals for years, making it safe for resort operations required a few more steps. "Bringing Short Side inbounds takes a lot more than moving a line on the trail map," the resort wrote in the official announcement on its website.
They explained, "We teamed up with F2 Logging, whose crew spent about a month working throughout the area, with more than 50 hectares (123.5 acres) of glading completed as part of the project. New road construction and two new ski ways were also added to better connect the terrain with the rest of the mountain."
Short Side's six new runs are more of what Whitewater skiers know and love: steep, fall-line glades. It's picture-perfect pow skiing with cliffs and pillows galore.
The rest of the resort has also gone through intensive cleaning and maintenance this summer, with forest cleaning occurring in Tailings, Quicksilver, Monkey Trees, Jack Leg Glades, and the Bonanza/Paydirt Tree Island. Plus, the popular groomer Bonanza, located skier's right off the Summit Chair, saw major excavation and rock removal in an effort to reduce its opening wait time.
From five-day ticket bundles to full season passes, you can still secure a Whitewater pass for the upcoming season. And trust us, this is one mountain you'll want to put on your bucket list and follow through with a visit.
The new Short Side terrain at Whitewater
The new Short Side terrain at Whitewater
