Manuel Osborne–Paradis (Invermere, BC) led the Canadians in what is believed to be the countries best super-G result ever, winning today’s Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart SG while two teammates joined him in the top 5.

Osborne-Paradis picked up the first super-G win of his career, becoming the first Canadian male in history to win both a super-G and downhill World Cup race, finishing in a time of one minute 32.93 seconds.

It’s the third victory by a Canadian in Lake Louise in four years as Jan Hudec (Calgary, AB) won the downhill in 2007 and John Kucera (Calgary, AB) won the super-G in 2006. Osborne-Paradis alo joins Kucera as the only Canadians to be on the podium twice in their career at a World Cup in Lake Louise.

“I don’t think it gets any better than this. In super-G I knew that I was making some good turns but I didn’t expect this,” said Osborne-Paradis, who will once again earn the use of a brand new GMC vehicle for a year as a result of today’s performance.

“I mean I was second here (in the downhill) a couple years ago and now I am first, so this is great,” he said.

Austrian veteran Benjamin Raich recorded the second fastest time of the day, finishing in 1:33.17. This is Raich third time finishing second in the super-G in Lake Louise, AB. Teammate Micheal Walchhofer finished in third place with a time 1:33.55. Walchhofer was the downhill winner in Lake Louise in 2003.

Erik Guay (Mont-Tremblant, QC), finished in fourth place with a time of 1:33.68, just 0.12s seconds away from the podium.

“I’m really happy that everything is progressing well. I have been working on my technique and it’s been getting better and I think the confidence is there. At this moment I’m going in the right direction so I’m pretty happy,” said Guay.

“I really think I skied well at the top but then for some reason I started holding back a little bit and I was round in my turns, not really riding my skis. But I’m glad today that I was able to stay around in the top 5,” added Guay.

Robbie Dixon (Whistler, BC), had the third fastest time amongst the Canadians as he followed Guay closely by finishing 5th with a time of 1:33.72. This is Dixon’s second solid finish this weekend as he finished 8th in yesterday’s downhill.

François Bourque (L’Ange Gardier, QC), who participated in his second race this season since his knee injury while training in Lake Louise last year, finished 27th with a time of 1:53.05.

Jan Hudec (Calgary, AB) finished 29th with a time of 1:35.11. Louis-Pierre Hélie (Berthierville, QC), who had his first top 30 results in World Cup in yesterday’s dowhill, recorded a time of 1:54.77 which placed him in 34st.

Unfortunately the news was not all good as Kucera left the course midway through his run and was helicoptered off the course. He was diagnosed by Canadian team doctors as fracturing his left leg in the crash.

The Canadian men’s speed team is on its way to Beaver Creek to race in a super combined on Friday November 4th a downhill on Saturday November 5th and a giant slalom on Sunday November 6th. The downhill race will be broadcasted live on CBC from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET and Radio-Canada from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 pm ET.

QUOTES FROM SUPER-G RACE
Canadians:
Robbie Dixon (Whislter, BC) 5th place
On his super-G race
«I give it my all and I was pretty intense. My skis were running well so I had a lot of confidence in my service guys to keep what I expected and keep my line and push it the best way that I could. I just try to do what I can.”

“I scared myself a little bit out there I thought I couldn’t make that gate at the end. It is so struggling now.”

On John Kucera’s crash
«It is heartbreaking when you see those things, Johnny did so well and to see Manny up there it’s tough, it’s hard”

François Bourque (L’Ange Gardien, QC) 27th place
About his race
«I think my ski was alright, I’m still in the learning process of getting back on snow. It was my first race in super-G since a year and a half ago so I’m taking it step by step and I will try to do better in next race in Beaver Creek.”

About Many’s performance
“I am pretty pumped for him. I think he’s been training harder than ever and I think he really deserves it. He’s a good friend.”

About John Kucera’s accident
«Skiing can sometime be cruel; he is a big part of the team. I have been pretty there myself so I know it’s not easy but for sure it makes you feel stronger after.”

TOP 3
Manuel Osborne-Paradis (CAN) 1st place
On his thoughts after his run:
“It’s tough to know. Obviously I knew it was good when I came down leading by 94 hundredths, I knew that it was going to be tough to beat. I didn’t know how long it was going to last.”

On his SG expectations”
“If I had struggled and had a SG spot, the expectations would be the same. I think that this is better Now I have proven it and hopefully I can continue to prove it leading up to the Olympics.”

On injuries”
“It’s the name of the game, this happened to Frank (Francois Bourque) last year.”

“Its probably going to happen to a number of other people between now and the Olympics, it’s been that way since the sport was invented.”

On Olympic success
“It’s something that you can’t think about. You need to focus on the things at hand and concentrate on the small things. If you concentrate on winning a podium at the Olympics, it’s not going to happen.”

On his SG performance
“You have to work on your faults and eventually you get better if you are trying hard.”

“My quality of skiing has gone up. It makes me feel good that this was a fair race; there were no issues with light conditions or anything like that. There were a lot of good skiers at the top and I just happened to be one of them.

Benjamin Raich (AUT) 2nd place
On today’s result:
“I am really happy about today. It was a good course and the snow conditions were good.”

On his expectations:
“For sure the dream is still alive for me. There are always one or two guys a little bit faster than me but I think that is about to change.”

On his “secret”:
“I like skiing and I like competing”

On the Olympics:
“I know how it feels to win a gold medal at the Olympics. It is such a good feeling. I am looking forward to Whistler.”

Michael Walchoffer (AUT) 3rd place
On the course:
“This was a very good super-G. I would compliment the workers. It was perfect.”

On his last season
“I don’t know, I’m not sure right now. It may be my last time here. It is something that will be more on my mind when I get to Garmisch.”

On surprise with Manny
“Yes, especially on this course. He has shown in the past that he can be fast on the straight course but today he showed that he can ski well on the technical courses as well.”

On the Austrian team:
“Yesterday we expected more from us in the downhill. So the result today takes a lot of pressure off of our shoulders. We can be more relaxed now, and relax heading into Beaver Creek.”

The Canadian speed team could not take part in their second training run at Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart as a snowstorm hit Lake Louise ski area last night and early this morning.

The volunteers working for this event, also known as the sled dogs, were hard at work since early this morning, as they tried to clear the downhill course to make it as safe as possible for the downhill athletes. Unfortunately, since the large amount of snow made the track unsafe, Darrell MacLachlan, Chief of race, decided to put a stop to today’s event.

“We decided to cancel the second training run due to heavy snow fall and continuing snow fall,” said Chief of race Darrell MacLachlan. “We were told that there was another major system coming through so there was no chance that we could make the race track safe enough for the athletes do go down. We will be working day and night to make sure that the track will be ready for tomorrow’s last training run. We will make another decision tomorrow morning.”

The Canadian men’s speed team will be back at work, weather permitting, tomorrow morning for their last downhill training run before the official speed season kicks off Saturday with the first downhill race following by a super-G race on Sunday at Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart.

There will be some entertainment on hill of the Lake Louise ski area Saturday November 28th as Mocking Shadows will be performing. The Mocking Shadows have been entertaining crowds across Canada for more then 10 years with their own brand of soul, reggae, blues and R&B. Drawing from their “old school” roots The Shadows have developed a contemporary sound that has attracted a younger demographic while still maintaining their original fan base.

Residents of Banff can also check out a live feed of CBC’s coverage of World Cup races this weekend on a Jumbotron in Banff Avenue Square Saturday and Sunday as part of the annual WinterStart Festival.

About three years after betting big on ski resorts, Fortress Investment Group LLC is selling a large Colorado ski area and trimming its exposure to an industry that has seen demand chilled by the financial downturn.

The Copper Mountain Resort ski area is one of several that Fortress acquired in 2006 when it bought Intrawest Corp., a Canadian owner of North American resorts, luxury golf courses and leisure travel businesses for $2.8 billion in cash and assumed debt. Last year, Fortress restructured some debt related to Intrawest.

Copper Mountain, a resort with 22 chairlifts about 75 miles from Denver, is being purchased by Powdr Corp., a closely held Park City, Utah, company that owns seven other ski resorts, including Park City Mountain Resort in Utah and Killington Resort in Vermont. Representatives of Fortress and Powdr declined to comment on the sale. But a person familiar with the property said Powdr paid more than $100 million. The deal is expected to close before year’s end.

The deal, one of the biggest sales of a ski resort since the financial crisis, provides a glimpse into the current value of such properties that have been suffering from declining revenue and visits. It isn’t clear why Fortress and Intrawest decided to sell Copper Mountain when the ski business is so weak.

Near the peak of the market in about 2006, ski resorts traded at prices close to about 10 times earnings. Prices for resorts these days are more likely to be in the seven-to-eight multiple range, according to Jerry Jones & Associates a brokerage in Avon, Colo.

An Intrawest spokesman said the company wanted to focus on its core resorts, but declined further comment. Some analysts believe the move was part of a debt-reduction strategy. “No one wants to sell anything if you don’t have to now,” said William Marks, a managing director with JMP Securities in San Francisco.

While the market rally has helped Fortress’s performance, the deal comes as Fortress has been struggling with other souring investments and weak results. For the three months ended Sept. 30, the firm posted a loss of $190 million.

The big question facing Powdr and the ski industry: When will the market for new condo and commercial development recover?

The industry saw the number of skier visits fall to about 57.4 million in the 2008-2009 season, down about 5.1% from the 60.5 million visits logged in the year-earlier season, according to the National Ski Areas Association. Steep discounting by ski areas and special promotions such as free ski lessons are widely believed to have resulted in substantial drops in revenue.

At the same time, the real-estate market in ski-resort areas also is feeling the pinch as fewer mortgage companies are interested in financing second homes or investment properties, according to Brooke Roberts, director of sales at Denver-based Land Title Guarantee Co. The Copper Mountain area saw the total volume of property transactions completed this year through September fall to about $20 million, from about $40 million in the year earlier period, Ms. Roberts said. That total includes condominiums, single-family homes, commercial property and land.

The average price of condominiums and townhomes sold this year in Summit County, where Copper Mountain is located, from January through September was about $394,784 this year, down from about $463,633 for all of 2008, Ms. Roberts said.

Intrawest owns and operates Copper’s on-mountain operations such as the ski lifts, ski school and the base village. It also has a permit from the U.S. Forest Service to operate on about 7,343 acres, which will need to be reissued to the new owners.

Intrawest purchased Copper Mountain in the mid 1990s for a price that was reported at the time to be in the $192 million range. At one point Intrawest owned about 480 acres in the Copper Mountain area, said Rob Pyzel, a senior planner with the Summit County Planning Department. Intrawest has since sold some of that to developers, but Mr. Pyzel said it still owns a majority of the property, which includes the base village, a golf course, open space and approvals to develop additional residential and commercial property.

Copper Mountain, whose name reflects its mining history, has its own following and is viewed by some as offering a down-to-earth vibe that is more popular with retired executives and their families rather than the movie stars that often frequent Vail or Aspen, Colo. “It’s striving to be destination resort but the reality of life is Copper is an extremely good ski mountain that is loved by the Denver crowd,” said Tom Malmgren, owner and president of Carbonate Real Estate in Copper Mountain.

Write to Maura Webber Sadovi at maura.sadovi@wsj.com

Dynastar/Lange and Revelstoke Mountain Resort are proud to announce a formal partnership between the brands. To celebrate this new association, they launched the “You Could Win a trip to Revelstoke Contest” which runs through December 31st.

“There is a natural fit between both organizations”, says Pierre Langlois, Dynastar’s VP Marketing. “We are both committed to dedicated skiers. We’ve partnered with Chamonix in France and Snowbird in Utah, and we feel that Revelstoke shares the same spirit and passion for skiing that Dynastar does.”

The Contest
When you buy a pair of 09/10 Dynastar skis at a participating Canadian Authorized Dynastar dealer, from September 15, 2009 to December 31, 2009 you can enter to win a 6-day trip for two to Revelstoke Mountain Resort*. Prize includes airfare, lodging, car rental, lift tickets and a Selkirk Tangiers Heli Ski trip and cat ski experience. Complete contest details are available at www.dynastar.com/revelstoke.

This just in, Fernie Alpine Resort announces early opening for a special PREVIEW WEEKEND this Saturday Nov 28th & Sunday Nov 29th!  With successive storms over the past few weeks and the magical powers of the legendary Griz, snow conditions at Fernie Alpine Resort lend to the earliest resort opening in British Columbia’s Kootenay Region of the Canadian Rockies, BC’s Powder Highway, and one of the earliest in the ski resort’s history.  The announcement to open for a preview weekend, one week prior to the official resort opening on Dec 5, comes with great excitement and anticipation to commence the ski and snowboard season at Fernie Alpine Resort!

Over a foot of snow fell on Fernie  this past weekend and more storms are to hit throughout the week.  Ski Patrol enyoyed skiing the fresh powder on Falling Star this Saturday.  With 80-120cm of base at the top of the mountain, Fernie Alpine Resort is anticipating fantastic conditions for opening day on Dec 5, 2009.

Michael Janyk (Whistler, BC) is back in Canada preparing to resume the World Cup season after finishing in third place on Saturday in the 2nd annual FIS Alpine Ski Champions Cup in Moscow, RUS.

Janyk, racing in front of thousands of spectators in the exhibition single pole parallel slalom event, won his first two races before being knocked out of contention by France’s Steve Missillier in the semi-final.

“It was pretty cool. It was totally different from anything that I have experienced before,” said Janyk, who picked up $10,000 US for finishing third. “The course was built on this massive, massive scaffolding. It was crazy.”

The FIS-sanctioned event used a 2500 ton steel construction stand that was equipped with two elevators and boasted 5000 cubic meters of snow. The races were covered live on national TV in Russia, as well as other European countries.

This was the second straight year the event was held in Russia, but Janyk was the first Canadian to participate. The total prize money was $315,000 US with first place winners in men’s and ladies competition receiving $30,000 US each.

Janyk said it was a great experience to compete in such a unique atmosphere against the world’s best slalom skiers.

“It was totally fun and joking around beforehand but once it got time to race, there was a lot of money on the line, and we are all really competitive so we wanted to win,” he said.

“That being said it was still a total fun atmosphere and the guys were having a great time,” added Janyk, the reigning GMC Canadian slalom champion.

Men’s Team Head Coach Paul Kristofic, who was also on site, said the event was a boost for ski racing’s global appeal.

“I thought it was a great race. It was very exciting to watch and there were a lot of spectators. It was a glitzy event and a lot of fun as well as being very competitive,” Kristofic said.

Austria’s Marcel Hirscher finished a top the 16-person men’s field while Therese Borssen of Sweden took top prize among the field of eight women.

As for Janyk, he has returned to Canada and expects to do some forerunning in Lake Louise before heading to Beaver Creek, USA for World Cup competition in early December.

The IGS Group of Companies is pleased to announce that they will be hosting a special Centennial celebration on Friday, November 27th, 2009 to mark the 100th anniversary of the IGS Building located at 441-2nd Avenue in historic downtown Fernie, British Columbia.

Originally built as the Trites-Wood Co. Ltd building after the great fire of 1908, the store officially opened its doors for business late in November of 1909. At the time, the Trites-Wood Co. Ltd was hailed as the largest department store of its kind west of Winnipeg and the store was an important fixture of downtown Fernie.

One hundred years later, the building remains an important fixture of Fernie’s historic downtown core. Although the name has changed to the IGS Building, the building continues to house several local retailers providing a host of important products and services to Fernie residents as well as visitors to the community.

The Centennial celebration also marks the completion of several years of important restoration work to the building. “Our goal was to be back in our own building by the fall of 2009 in time for the centennial of the IGS Building,” states Ingrid Sombrowski, whose family owns the building. “We are pleased to announce that all of the 1950’s renovations have disappeared and the interior restoration has brought the space back to its historical 1909 look.”
The celebration will occur from Noon until 6:00 PM on Friday, November 27th, 2009. Special activities will include complimentary coffee and tea, an official cake cutting ceremony at 1:00 pm, as well as various live entertainers throughout the afternoon. The IGS Building will also be hosting a fundraiser for the Fernie Historical Society as part of the celebration. The Fernie Historical Society will be operating an outdoor BBQ and providing complimentary historical tours of the 2nd avenue block, including the new museum as well as one of Fernie’s last underground tunnels located in the basement of the IGS building.

Lastly, all of the IGS Building retailers, including IGS Value Drugmart, Fernie Home Hardware, Bear Necessities and Straight Line, will be offering sales specials and prize giveaways throughout the day.

Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart organizers received approval from the International Ski Federation (FIS) to proceed with the opening speed races of the World Cup season after an inspection of snow conditions today at the Lake Louise Ski Area.

FIS Race Director Helmut Schmalzl, Men’s weekend Chief of Race Darryl MacLachlan and others participated in the annual inspection, known by organizers as “snow control.”

“We are very pleased with today’s decision by FIS and excited about the conditions for the upcoming men’s World Cup races in Lake Louise,” said MacLachlan, following the approval of snow control, which is required before races can proceed.

“We have had excellent cooperation from management and staff at Lake Louise Ski Area as we prepared for today and I also commend the many hours of work put in by the Sled Dogs, our hard-working volunteers, to get us to where we are at,” MacLachlan said.

The Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart is Canada’s classic ski race, renowned internationally as the kick off event of the men’s and ladies World Cup speed discipline season.

Organizers expect ski racers from 21 nations to compete this year, with the men’s downhill and super G races scheduled for Nov. 28 and 29 while two ladies downhill events take place Dec. 4 and 5 and a super G on Dec. 6.

As for the Canadians, there have been a total of six podium results by Canadians in the last three years including a super-G win by John Kucera in 2006 and downhill victory by Jan Hudec in 2007.

Lake Louise is also the first North American resort ever to be named into the prestigious Club 5+, the organization that brings together the most famous and historic World Cup alpine racing courses in the world.

Snow control for Ladies weekend will take place later this month.

Canadian Halfpipe Ski Team head coach Trennon Paynter has announced his exciting and talented 2009 – 2010 line up. Two new members will join the hugely successful squad, lead by halfpipe superstars Sarah Burke and Mike Riddle, for the upcoming season.

Last year, the team attained podium results in almost every event it attended, including the World Championships, Winter X-Games, Dew Tours, World Cups, and more.

Paynter said, “It may not be easy to surpass the results of previous years, but the team is up for the challenge, and is approaching the 2010 season on a mission to raise the bar to new levels.”



The two new members – Dania Assaly from Edmonton, Alta, and Matt Margetts from Penticton, B.C. – will join the team veterans in the pipe this season.

Assaly has been steadily rising through the ranks of both halfpipe and slopestyle for the past few seasons. She finished the 2008-2009 season with a victory at the World Ski Invitational event and subsequently went on to earn four more consecutive podium finishes in the southern hemisphere this summer. Paynter described Assaly’s style as, “Aggressive, confident and stylish.” He added that he expects big things from her this season.

For his part, Margetts has been making his mark on the freeskiing scene with an impressive combination of halfpipe and slopestyle results as well as a notable film résumé. Margetts is continuously breaking new ground in the sport through his relentless pursuit of progression and style. He represents the fresh new face of freestyle skiing.

The team is rounded out by the following veterans:
Sarah Burke (Squamish, B.C.)
Rosalind Groenewoud (Calgary, Alta)
Mike Riddle (Squamish, B.C.)
Justin Dorey (Vernon, B.C.)

Long time team member Matthew Hayward will be taking the 2010 season off from full-time competition due to injury, but he is expected to be back in full form for the 2011 season.

The two new members – Dania Assaly from Edmonton, Alta, and Matt Margetts from Penticton, B.C. – will join the team veterans in the pipe this season.

check out the Canadian Halfpipe Team on its interactive Facebook fan page at:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canadian-Halfpipe-Ski-Team/113187713219