Whitewater Ski Resort Approved Master Plan Amendment

In the fall of 2008, Brent Harley and Associates Inc. were retained to assist in the creation of Whitewater’s Master Plan Amendment. Subsequently, new topographic mapping of the Whitewater area was acquired, existing facilities were inventoried and an in-depth terrain analysis completed. This acted as the basis for a fresh look at the potential of the resort. The planning process was initiated with the establishment of a new Vision, Goals and Objectives for Whitewater. Using this as the foundation, a series of concepts were explored, leading to a preferred concept and ultimately to the proposed expansion of the lift and trail system and the development of a boutique mountain resort village. In June 2010 the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts (MTCA) approved the Master Plan Amendment Document for Whitewater Ski Resort.

Site Analysis

With the new map base, the existing Controlled Recreation Area was re-analysed in an effort to revisit the existing Master Plan. These analyses confirmed the basic findings of the earlier planning exercise.

The Aspect Analysis involves colour coding the topographic features of the study area to illustrate the orientation and geographical exposure with respect to the eight points of the compass. The Elevation Analysis slices the topographic features of the study area into 50 metre increments, effectively illustrating the height and “flow” of the land. The Slope Analysis divides the topography of the study area into a range of skiable gradients as they relate to the primary skier/snowboarder skill classes.

Ski Area

Currently there are 49 ski trails on 117 hectares of terrain at Whitewater. At buildout the number of ski trails will grow to 144 on a total of 413 hectares. In addition to the developed terrain, the lift and trail configuration will provide access to approximately 700 more hectares of skiable terrain all within the CRA.

Technically, based on the proposed developed trails, the CCC can grow from the existing 1,106 to 5,000 skiers per day at buildout. It should be noted that, while this capacity far surpasses the ability of the base area lands to stage, the proposed ski facilities development will cater to the desired very low density powder skiing product.

Phasing

The gradual development of Whitewater is envisioned to occur over four or more phases. Each phase is self contained effectively being able to function as a finished resort product with both the mountain and the base area development complementing each other. Subsequent development will be driven by demand from the skier marketplace.