As published in the Vancouver Sun, Saturday, January 10, 2009 Section H, page 1 by Gillian Shaw

…If there’s a silver lining to the cloud, it’s that for those with money in their pockets, now is the perfect time to score a deal on a vacation. And if you have lots of money, that deal could be a new condo.

“If you’re a buyer, I can’t think of a better time,” said Pat Kelly, president of Whistler Real Estate and an almost 30-year resident of the area. “There may be some people who are more interested in looking at an offer than they were a year ago. If you’re patient and you have cash, you are in a very strong position. It might be the best buying opportunity prior to the Olympics.”

Right about now the resort could use a perfect storm - one that combines just-right temperatures with snowfall to cover bare rocks and trees in the upper reaches of the alpine. The past week has seen a dramatic improvement in the snow cover. After snow bypassed the resort during the holidays, a whopping 87 centimetres has dropped on it in recent days.

Even so, Brownlie says the unstable snow pack still has to be dealt with through extensive avalanche control that is now going on at the resort to prevent layers of snow from breaking free.

There have been bright spots, such as the opening of the $50-million-plus Peak 2 Peak gondola connecting Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. It has garnered attention and enthusiasm both on and off the mountain. A BASE jump video has drawn almost 30,000 viewers on YouTube, and the first week of operations alone saw an aerial wedding conducted on the gondola as it hovered over the mountain. Several couples took the heady step of getting engaged on the Peak 2 Peak.

Jeff Hunter and his girlfriend Amy Galiszuski travelled to Whistler all the way from Philadelphia for the grand opening of the lift, and Hunter marked the occasion by asking Galuszuski if she would marry him.

“I got the guys (running the lift) to block off the doors so there was just the two of us in one gondola,” he said. “I waited until we were in the middle. I told her how much I cared about her and I popped the question. She said yes,” he said of his proposal, made 436 metres over Fitzsimmons Creek.

Hunter isn’t worried by the stories about the Excalibur Gondola or the avalanches. The B.C.-raised skier tells all his friends to go to Whistler, which is heading into the final-year countdown to the 2010 Olympics with a lineup of World Cup competitions scheduled this winter as a prelude to the big event.

“I’ve emailed everyone I know who skis, and I’ve told them they’ve got to go and ride the Peak 2 Peak,” he said. “I’m telling them Whistler is a great place to ski.”

Brownlie also remains relentlessly upbeat, pointing to the top ratings the resort consistently gets from ski magazines, and a reputation that draws outdoors enthusiats from around the world.

“There is lots of new snow in the forecast,” he said. “Every year there is something different, and certainly this is no exception.