WATCH: Check out the first rides down Big White this summer

• Opening day delayed by late spring
• Mountain biking paths open

The snow is finally gone from Big White, and the chair lifts are starting back up for the summer crowd.

Eager mountain bikers waited hours in line at the Bullet Express chair Thursday to be among the first to rip down the slopes on two wheels.

“[Opening day] has been delayed by a week but we’re super stoked to have everyone up here now,” Big White sales manager Andrew Daly told Kelowna10.

A late spring with cooler temperatures and further precipitation caused the snowpack to melt slower than usual. Crews used excavators and worked by hand to dig out the trails.

Daly said 80 per cent of the available paths were open.

Legendary freeride mountain biker Brett Tippie was on hand to cheer on the bikers and test out the trails for himself.

Daly said it’s worth the drive to Big White thanks to the infrastructure and terrain.

“The mountain biking here is unique because it’s obviously lift assisted. So, it’s easier for you to get up on the hill,” he said. “It’s a great way for beginners and people who are getting introduced to the sport to get up on the mountain and get a bunch of laps in.”

The same indicators of difficulty used in skiing, like green to double black, are applied with biking trails. Daly said there’s trails for every skill level available.

The summer programs are relatively young at Big White, having only been in operation for five years; two of which were dialed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the mountain is well known as a winter resort, the interest in non ski and snowboarding activities is growing.

“We’re building bigger and better every year,” Daly said.

Hiking also draws crowds to the mountain. Dogs are welcome on the chair lifts to join in the trekking, according to Daly. Many people climb in search of various alpine flowers blooming this month.

Big White also has a disc golf course, also nicknamed ‘frolf’ for frisbee golf. Played much the same as regular golf, players throw discs on the nine-hole course starting straight out of the village.

The retail stores like Altitude, which are normally filled with snowboarding gear and winter clothing, is now filled with bike helmets, frisbees, and athletic t-shirts.

While not to the same extent as in the wintertime, many of the shops, restaurants, accommodations, and cafes are open, including The Woods and Snowshoe Sam’s.

Daly expects growing interest in summer at Big White.

“We’re really keen to see it grow somewhere close to what we are in the winter,” he said. “We’ve got a smaller crowd that comes but it’s growing year over year.”