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June 6, 2005

A season of Highs, Lows, Firsts and (hopefully!) Lasts

WHISTLER, BC: June 6, 2005 - Whistler Blackcomb closed yesterday for the 04/05 winter after a season of record breaking highs and lows spread over 198 consecutive days of skiing and riding.

"This has been a season of anomalies, and we feel a bit like a marathon runner who started out strong, hit the wall as rain poured down in January, but peaked as we approached the finish line with epic snow conditions in March and April," says Stuart Rempel, senior vice-president of marketing and sales for Whistler Blackcomb.

Heavy snowfall through the latter half of March and early April delivered exceptional conditions that lasted well into the spring, and set the base for summer glacier skiing and riding. The resort had its share of weather challenges this year, though, with a low early season snowfall, followed by record rains in mid-January.

The March/April snow brought Whistler Blackcomb's total snowfall for the 2004/2005 winter season to 270 inches/685 cm, which is approximately 69% of the total average snowfall of 30 feet.

"The late season snow was a very welcome addition and helped us to end the season on a high note," says Stuart Rempel, Senior VP Sales and Marketing, Whistler Blackcomb. "We were challenged mid-winter with the worst weather this resort has seen in 30 years, but our exceptional operations crews worked with what they had - heli-ing snow where necessary and building new equipment - to move snow around the mountains and enable our guests to enjoy the best possible skiing/riding experience every single day."

· Pre-season bookings broke records, with early booking deals in international markets offering great value.

· A record number of skiers hit the slopes during Christmas week.

· The FIS 2005 Snowboard World Championships (January 15-22,2005) was successfully held without using weather back-up days, proving Whistler Blackcomb can host a world-class event in the most challenging of weather conditions.

· During two weeks of solid sunshine in February, more than 3,000 beginner skiers and riders took advantage of great package deals during the first-ever "Learn-To" week.

Starting March 16, winter returned delivering 10.5 feet or just over three metres of snow through mid-April. A near record was reached in April as the resort received 1 cm shy of its previous record of 194 cm (76.5 inches). Snowfall continued through May with an above average accumulation of 45 cm (18 inches).

The snowmaking magicians pumped 180 million gallons of water, making enough snow to fill 903 football fields with snow one foot deep. That's the largest seasonal production of snow in the history of Whistler Blackcomb.

· Based on weather monitoring during Olympic week, all training runs and races would have gone off without a hitch if this were 2010.

· The great early start was dampened by record rainfall in January: Whistler received 208mm of rain from Monday, January 17 to Monday, January 24. Over those six days, thanks to a weather anomaly called the Pineapple Express, the resort received three times the normal precipitation for all of January.

· New for 04/05 and North America's longest intermediate run, Peak to Creek did not open due to low snow coverage at the bottom. But just wait for next year!

Erroneous rumours were rampant at the SIA.05 SnowSPORTS SHOW in Las Vegas in February that Whistler Blackcomb was closed. So not true! Let's hope the adage rings true: what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

· Whistler Blackcomb successfully hosted the first FIS World Snowboarding Championships held outside Europe.

700 acres of new terrain in Flute Bowl opened, and the snow in the alpine was characteristically dependable on most days, epic on many. Flute Bowl delivered some of the best skiing all winter.

The Super Night Pipe, a legacy from the FIS World Snowboarding Championships, opened for night riding and skiing.

For guests braving the elements in January, Whistler Blackcomb offered free ski school lessons and discounted food, which continued as a perk for passholders throughout the season.

The newly redeveloped Creekside opened, offering covered free parking, easy upload, and enhanced shopping amenities.

· May we never experience the tropical punch of a Pineapple Express again. Amen.

Whistler Blackcomb employees typically have an early season bonfire to burn old skis and snowboards to honour Ullr, the Nordic god of the alpine, but not this year. We are duly humbled, Ullr; look for the best Ullr party ever next November!

Ironically, The NHL season was a no-go, but at the height of the rains in January, our trail crew staff were on the ski runs with hockey sticks, using their best wrist shots to flick rocks off the runs. Next season, let's hope the sticks are back on the ice where they belong.

· April Fools Day brought 43 cm of new snow: no joke.

· From "snowfarming" - moving snow around via helicopter to keep ski-outs open - to building one-of-a-kind dumpcats, this season was all about the snowmaking, grooming and operations teams.

Whistler locals were so grateful for the extraordinary efforts to keep the mountains open every single day, residents ran full-page thank-you ads in local newspapers.

Whistler Blackcomb spent over $1 million to enhance conditions, give free lessons, offer food discounts, and keep everything running.

· Whistler Blackcomb has never had a low snowfall year followed by another low snowfall year. The lowest snowfall ever recorded was in 1985/86 at 594 cm, and that was followed by 889 cm the next year.

Signifying regional confidence in next year's snow, sales for Whistler Blackcomb's Edge Card (discount card for locals) for winter 05/06 are up 80% over last year.

Our friends in Torino will be hosting the winter Olympics. We're next!

Whistler Blackcomb is an Intrawest resort. Intrawest Corporation (IDR:NYSE; ITW:TSX) is one of the world's leading destination resort and adventure travel companies. Intrawest has interests in 10 mountain resorts in North America's most popular mountain destinations, including Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company owns Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world, and a 67 percent interest in Abercrombie & Kent, the world leader in luxury adventure travel. The Intrawest network also includes Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and Club Intrawest - a private resort club with nine locations throughout North America. Intrawest is developing five additional resort village developments at locations in North America and Europe. Intrawest is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, visit www.intrawest.com.