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Season pass 'excitement' to be announced next month

Olympic winter will be a little different than normal

Whistler Blackcomb won't be releasing its pass prices for the Olympic season until next month but there's a sense of good things to come.


"Our most loyal customers, which are our season's pass holders and edge card holders, will be quite excited," said Stuart Rempel, WB's senior vice president of sales and marketing.


Skiing in Whistler will be vastly different in the 2009-10 season as the resort feels the impacts of the 2010 Games; this despite the fact that 90 per cent of the ski terrain will be open to the public.


Day skier parking will be at a minimum as Whistler gets closer to the Games, which begin Feb. 12.


Cypress Mountain, host of Olympic freestyle skiing and snowboard events, will also be impacted throughout the season, culminating in a full closure of the mountain for 36 days around Games time.


Cypress is offering a 2010 commemorative season pass at a significant discount.


Whereas last year's early bird pass was $787, this year's pass is $259. There will be limited number of passes handed out and Joffrey Koeman, director of sales and marketing at Cypress, confirmed they are 60 per cent sold out. The passes went on sale July 7.


Cypress has not determined just yet when it will cap season pass sales.
"There's limited space and parking up here this year," said Koeman.
"We still need to have room for our regular day visitors as well."


The pass comes with other perks. The first 1,500 to buy online received two tickets to the nightly Olympic celebrations at B.C. Place. They will also have access to Mt Seymour during Cypress's blackout period around the Games at an additional cost.


In other ski ticketing news, Mt. Bachelor in Bend Oregon, has introduced conditions-based pricing for single-day lift tickets for the 2009-10 season. The single-day ticket prices will take into account the amount of lift-serviced terrain available and weather factors. Tickets will cost $49, $59 or $69.


"Mt. Bachelor receives some of the best quality and deepest snow accumulation in the country, but we also wrestle with days of lower visibility, winds and rime," said Dave Rathbun, president and general manager. "This new program will allow us to charge a fair price for the skiing and riding available on a given day."