Whistler Blackcomb has acquired Whistler
Heli-Skiing in a transaction that significantly increases Whistler
Blackcomb’s skiable terrain and offers guests over a half a million
acres of skiing and snowboarding terrain. The purchase adds Whistler
Heli-Skiing’s tenure of 494,000 acres throughout the Whistler
backcountry to Whistler Blackcomb’s 8,171 acres of in-bounds skiing,
creating a ski area of 502,171 acres or 785 square miles.
The four previous owners of Whistler Heli-Skiing –
Doug O’Mara, John Hetherington, Andrew Wilkins and Ken Hardy – will
continue to be actively involved in the business. They will continue to
provide management and expert guiding for Whistler Heli-Skiing while
Whistler Blackcomb will provide added sales, marketing and operational
support.
“Whistler Blackcomb is very excited with the new
opportunity to grow the Whistler Heli-Skiing business,” says Dave
Brownlie, Whistler Blackcomb’s Chief Operating Officer. “Under the
continued expert management and guiding of Doug, John, Andrew and Ken,
and with the valuable marketing, sales and operational infrastructure
that Whistler Blackcomb can provide, the business is poised for even
greater success. There are huge opportunities for us to market
heli-skiing alongside our current in-bounds experiences.”
“This announcement is great news for Whistler as
it presents an opportunity to package guest products that are unique in
the ski resort vacation market,” says Doug O’Mara from Whistler
Heli-Skiing. “There are very few places in the world where a world
class ski resort can provide its guests with a heli-ski experience on
glaciers within a five minute flight from the village. With Whistler
Blackcomb’s strong sales and marketing efforts, the opportunities to
create unbelievable packages and attract new guests to the resort will
be significant. My partners and I are very happy to be able to take
Whistler Heli-Skiing to this next level with Whistler Blackcomb.”
Another major benefit of the two companies joining
forces is the incredible wealth of shared snow science knowledge that
will now be available to both companies. Some of the most experienced
mountain guides and ski patrollers in the business will now share years
of snow data collection and snow study. In a business that relies daily
on the predictability of its forecasting and reporting, this shared
intelligence will be a significant asset.
The 25 year-old heli-ski company, the only one
based in Whistler Resort, will still operate as Whistler Heli-Skiing,
and will be a wholly owned subsidiary company of Whistler Blackcomb.
For further information on either company, visit www.whistlerblackcomb.com or www.whistlerheliskiing.com.
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Published by
ski.colonies.com: 7:23 PM
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