After a harrowing, snowy setup into the early hours of the morning on Friday, the volunteers were on their game for the new winter stage rally today. This is the first sponsored winter rally held at the Big White Ski Resort and it proved to be exciting for everyone.

The spectator area was set up at the Black Forest stage near the Gem Lake Westridge Lodge. We had a great view of the racers navigating a narrow bridge, tight right turn while accelerating up the hill. It's no easy feat - I tried it on my way out - @%^&* look out!  Well done racers!

The Valley Mitsubishi SnowX Competition is also on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm in the Happy Valley Parking Lot. The SnowX course is a combination of autoX and rallyX styles which include tight turns and quick reflexes!

For more information and race results visit http://okanaganrally.wordpress.com

Underground Pizza opened its doors this week, boasting a refurbished interior, ice cold beers in the fridge and sports playing on the big screen. John and Ali Mooney, the owners of the Underground, wanted to provide residents and holiday-makers here at Big White with a type of sports bar and have worked hard along with Al Reid and many others over the last few months to put it all together.

Some of the usual suspects here at Big White broke the Underground in on Sunday night watching the Grey Cup Final (can you believe that last play?!). With jugs of beer all round, plenty of yelling at the TV, a few chugging competitions, and of course some delicious pizza, it ended up being a great night out for all involved!

The Underground is shaping up to be an awesome new spot to have a beer and a feed after a hard day on the slopes, or to watch the game with your mates. Make sure you check it out this season!

Underground Pizza is located downstairs in the Village Center Mall, Big White. Open daily from 8am until midnight for eat in or delivery.View the Worx Restaurant Guide for more information.

You've heard of Clifford The Big Red Dog (if you have pre-teens that is), well, now we have Clifford the Big White Dog. As you can see, that's not really correct either because he's jet black. The thing is – Clifford lives up here at Big White with his owner/handler/companion Katerine Guenette, and they both have very special jobs that could one day save your life. Clifford, a black lab, is more than half way through a two-year course to become an avalanche rescue dog certified through CARDA (Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association). Today's rescue dogs have come a long way from the classic whisky-toting St. Bernards that usually come to mind when combining snow and dogs.

Kate, was born in Montreal Quebec, but she has been working at Big White for 9 years. For the last three years, she has been living full time year round, and shortly after Clifford was born 17 months ago she decided to provide him with a post puppy education. Last winter, while Clifford's life still revolved around chewing on