This is the first of a series of stories celebrating the 60th anniversary of Big White Ski Resort

The story of Big White Ski Resort starts with co-founders Cliff Serwa and Doug Mervyn.

Serwa and Mervyn saw the need for a bigger ski resort close to Kelowna and went all into creating it themselves.

含羞草研究社淚t would含羞草研究社檝e never happened if Doug and I weren含羞草研究社檛 good friends,含羞草研究社� said Serwa.

When they were just growing up, both of them moved to Kelowna with their families and met at United Church Camp. From there, they became friends when they were around 12 years old. They both loved the outdoors, including becoming junior members of a fish and game club.

Over the years, Serwa, Mervyn and their friends would make trips to Little White Mountain and stay at a forestry lookout where you could see Big White.

含羞草研究社淚t was all alone and we were attracted to it, we always wanted to get to Big White,含羞草研究社� said Serwa.

In the summer of 1953, Serwa was working in construction for the family business, which was Serwa Bulldozing at the time (now Serwa Excavating Ltd.). He was building a road link connecting the end of Joe Rich Valley to McCulloch Road on the other side. At the time, it was the closest he含羞草研究社檇 ever been to Big White.

A winter season soon after, Serwa, Mervyn, and their friend Howard Carter tried to hike to Big White in snowshoes but got caught up in a blizzard, only getting to West Kettle Valley.

The two of them would also hike and hunt in the area but never made it to the mountain, despite their attempts throughout the years.

As they were still in their late teens and into their early 20s, they both continued to work for their fathers.

Mervyn was also the director at the Black Mountain Ski Bowl above Rutland, which was the only place to ski in Kelowna at the time.

含羞草研究社淪ome winters we had two weeks of skiing and some we had six weeks,含羞草研究社� said Mervyn. 含羞草研究社淚t became obvious there was a need for another ski area.含羞草研究社�

Thanks to Mervyn having his private and commercial pilot含羞草研究社檚 license, he was able to fly around the Okanagan to get a lay of the land.

含羞草研究社淏ig White was unquestionably the right mountain to development,含羞草研究社� said Mervyn.

At first, they promoted the idea around town but weren含羞草研究社檛 able to get anyone interested right away.

含羞草研究社淥ne day, we were going somewhere and I said to Doug 含羞草研究社榃hy don含羞草研究社檛 we try it?含羞草研究社櫤�羞草研究社� said Serwa. 含羞草研究社淏oth Doug and I were risk-takers and of the mind 含羞草研究社榠t含羞草研究社檚 better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all含羞草研究社� so we wanted to try to do something on their own. Silverstar (Vernon) had started and Apex (Penticton) had started.含羞草研究社�

The two of them then went on to find out what they had to do to get started. It was recommended to get a Ministry of Forest Special Use Permit. If they got that permit, they had two years to get everything done and open Big White.

To get started, they would have to scout the mountain. The first trip was 22 hours and they would get stuck in another storm and wouldn含羞草研究社檛 have enough equipment with them. They got to the west side of the mountain and thought the ski hill would go there. In the second round, they prepared themselves better, making the trip over a few days and camping near the top of the mountain. They got to the south slope and found the terrain and the view they were looking for. Despite the extra road mileage, this is where the mountain was going to be in their eyes.

They figured if they got approved, they would have one year to build the road and one year to build the lift and chalet. But that changed.

It had been four months and they hadn含羞草研究社檛 heard anything about their permit application and hadn含羞草研究社檛 told many people except their families, and close friends. Until the day Serwa recalls he was at his parents含羞草研究社� house for lunch and the radio was on. All of a sudden, the newscaster said on the radio a group of local businessmen were looking to develop Big White.

Confused by this, Serwa and Mervyn inquired about their application, which did get approved but with a twist - they only had one year for operations to begin, a mighty tall task.

含羞草研究社淲e didn含羞草研究社檛 have much money,含羞草研究社� both Serwa and Mervyn echo, but eventually they got businesses in Kelowna to invest. Even those who would never ski were interested because of the benefits it would have for Kelowna.

含羞草研究社淭he business people in Kelowna were wonderful, buying shares in the company with us and without that, we would含羞草研究社檝e never been able to get it done,含羞草研究社� added Mervyn.

Serwa含羞草研究社檚 dad was also generous on the payback terms as his construction company helped them with the 13 Mile Road.

It was November 1962, when they started construction by building a CAT trail from a logging road (that Rutland Saw Mills opened up) up to the mountain. They laid out the road, did all the footwork themselves, and utilized logging roads to help out as much as possible. Mervyn said it took them the whole month for them to build right of way to the mountain that is still there today.

There wasn含羞草研究社檛 much downtime but when there was, Serwa and Mervyn would bring their skiing friends to the mountain to help get their thoughts and ideas.

含羞草研究社淚 wasn含羞草研究社檛 a skier and these friends were,含羞草研究社� recalls Serwa.

At one point during the winter, they had to stop construction because there was simply too much snow.

One of the challenges they faced was in 1963, that spring and summer was the wettest year on record from heavy participation and snowmelt.

含羞草研究社淪ome days were real downers,含羞草研究社� said Serwa. 含羞草研究社淭he road was the biggest challenge, the rest of it fell into place once we had the road.含羞草研究社�

As the road got better and access to the mountain became easier, they took the J5 Bombardier, a CAT and a few workers and started clearing the area to build the original chalet site, which is further up the mountain than the present one. They also started building the parking lot.

In September 1963, work began on the ski lift.

The last piece of the puzzle for Serwa and Mervyn was adding the cable to the ski lift.

含羞草研究社淚n a 12-hour day, near the top of the original T-Bar, we made 147 lineal feet (of cable) in five and a half feet of snow,含羞草研究社� recalls Serwa. 含羞草研究社淚t would build up on the tracks and we would have to clean it out.含羞草研究社�

After just over a year of work, Serwa and Mervyn opened Big White to the public on Dec. 8, 1963.

含羞草研究社淲e were very fortunate to be able to get it done,含羞草研究社� says Mervyn.

On the very first day, more than 100 cars were in the parking lot, bringing about 400 people to the ski hill.

含羞草研究社淵ou could hardly believe it,含羞草研究社� said Serwa. 含羞草研究社淎nd you have to understand, it was gravel road up to the mountain, it was a rough drive and our road wasn含羞草研究社檛 very good but it enabled us to have a very successful first year.含羞草研究社�

In those days a ticket to the hill was $3.

Mervyn added when they first opened, his wife Marie ran the food business while his daughter Rhonda stood on a box so she could reach the cash register at the cafeteria.

When the two of them started, they each put $20,000 into the project and received great financial support from local businesses but it would be two more years before the pair would make any money from the mountain.

含羞草研究社淎t the end of the first year of operation, we had about $200,000 of investment in the mountain including the road, the lift, and the chalet and our first year gross revenue was $27,000,含羞草研究社� said Serwa. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 changed a lot since then.含羞草研究社�

At the time, they still made money from their everyday jobs with Serwa in construction and Mervyn as a car salesman.

含羞草研究社淭here were a lot of challenges, energy and time was one of them,含羞草研究社� said Mervyn.

During their time owning the resort, they also created something that had never been done before. At one point, they wanted to expand the mountain and they had a new chairlift in mind, that would go from the chalet to the west ridge, where the skiing was happening. Mervyn went to the Doppelmayr Factory in Austria to order the new lift when Serwa called him saying they needed to change their idea.

Mervyn came back and they looked at the area and concluded the ski area was already too congested and didn含羞草研究社檛 open to any new areas. Instead, they built another mile and a half of road going down below the present lift drives and towards the village - this would open up a whole new area never seen before.

含羞草研究社淭he side benefit was something we had never seen either in Europe or in North America, a village within a ski area where people could ski from their residence to a lift system and from a lift system to their residence,含羞草研究社� said Serwa. 含羞草研究社淚t was unique in that way.含羞草研究社�

Over time, the resort would grow every year right in front of their eyes.

The two of them brought power, water, and a sewer system to the mountain at their own expense as well as building the first condominiums.

Eventually, in 1978, Cliff and Doug agreed to sell the resort as they could see the work that was going to have to continue.

含羞草研究社淭he demands of skiing were going to take a lot of money we didn含羞草研究社檛 have,含羞草研究社� said Mervyn.

When the two of them were on the mountain, they would check everything to make sure it was okay and not damaged.

含羞草研究社淲e were a partnership and we were also pioneers. What was happening was that the things that we loved doing, being outside, were being relegated because at times we had up to 200 employees. It needed a more sophisticated style of management, we were too close to everything,含羞草研究社� said Serwa.

They sold the resort to Dave Bowering, who was the son of the former Deputy Minister of Commercial Transport.

Because of their knowledge of the mountain, Cliff and Doug said they would help but Bowering never consulted them.

The two of them went on to have other great adventures in their life. Mervyn always wanted to be a rancher and had a little ranching experience growing up. He eventually bought a ranch in Williams Lake that became the first cattle ranch in the province. Serwa got into politics 含羞草研究社榖y accident含羞草研究社� he says and became BC含羞草研究社檚 MLA from 1986-1996, representing Okanagan South before Okanagan West.

For Serwa, his granddaughter Kelsey made herself a household name at the mountain as she went on to represent Canada at three Winter Olympics Games.

含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 very impressive,含羞草研究社� said Serwa. 含羞草研究社淲e were there when she won silver and gold. What含羞草研究社檚 most impressive is the degree of work she含羞草研究社檚 put into achieving含羞草研究社�It含羞草研究社檚 been good for the mountain and Kelowna and been fantastic.含羞草研究社�

In 1985, the Schumann family was looking at Apex but discovered Big White. They decided to buy it and have been the owners since.

含羞草研究社淭hey含羞草研究社檝e done a great job, they含羞草研究社檝e had the financial resources,含羞草研究社� said Serwa.含羞草研究社淚 think I would be a liar to say we envisioned to the magnitude it is today, all we were really hoping for is to create something that would be a benefit to the community and we would have our own jobs,含羞草研究社� added Serwa. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 an absolute honour to be a part of it.含羞草研究社�

On June 13, 2023, the two of them were named inductees to the Central Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame (COSHOF).

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