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Olympics bring boom to some Whistler businesses

Souvenirs are popular with Winter Games crowd, but mountains are quiet
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It's been ridiculous.

That's how Michael Sinclair, general manager of the 49 th Parallel, described the business his store has seen since the Olympics officially opened Friday, bringing with them a constant stream of international spectators, volunteers, workers and athletes.

"It is four times what we actually thought it would be, and 10 to 20 times what a normal day would be," he said Monday morning, hurriedly answering phone calls and manning the cash register while speaking to Pique Newsmagazine.

The business his store is seeing is not even on the same spectrum as May Long Weekend or Crankworx, said Sinclair, who carries Olympic- and Canadian-themed clothing and merchandise.

"It is probably on the same spectrum as Christmas," said Sinclair. "It is better than anything we would have thought would be possible."

Each customer is buying more than one item, he said, which is different than normal, and the majority of his clients are Canadian, although he is also seeing American and European credit cards.

And if the upcoming week is anything like the first four days, he said, "it is going to be great."

As day four of the Winter Olympics took shape in Whistler on Monday, sleep did not appear to be top of mind for the many people making their way along the Village Stroll. By 9 a.m., the coffee shops were packed and a lift line was spiraling out of the entrance to Whistler Gondola with eager skiers and boarders. More than half of the businesses already had their lights on and their doors open.

Fiona Minton, co-owner of Ingrid's Café, was busy frying dozens of hamburger patties.

"It's been crazy," she said as the phone started ringing.

It's busier than Crankworx - one of Whistler's busiest weekends - she said. From lunchtime onward, people are constantly lining up at her till. Customers are from all over the world, with a significant number of Americans in town, which she suspects is related to the fact that Monday was President's Day.

"We always thought it would be like this, but we thought it might happen a bit earlier," she added. "We were prepared for it, but we have been probably prepared for about two weeks for it."

Not everyone in the village has been blessed with high sales and packed stores, though. The staff at Mountain Riders looked restless, with one worker holding a grey cat and another giggling.

"It's been pretty quiet in here," Chloe Latham, a store assistant, said frankly. "I guess nobody really wants to buy snowboards, but it is craziness out there."

Before the Games began Latham thought it might still be busy in the store - with people picking something up after walking in. But instead people just seem to come in, look around, and leave, she said.

"The Olympic stuff is selling, but nothing else really," she said. "Nobody is really looking."

Slow business did not seem to be putting a damper on her mood though, and she cheerfully pointed out that from the store she can see the free Whistler Live! concerts in Village Square. And when the Olympic torch relay came to town two weeks ago, it went right by the store.

"That was cool," she said, adding she is rooting for Australia.

Spencer Charlton, retail clerk at Excess Backcountry, said most people coming through his store are picking up T-shirts, jerseys and other souvenirs rather than the usual ski gear.

"Traffic in the store seems quite close to as busy (as it gets during Christmas), but it is a totally different style of sale," said Charlton. "At Christmas time, people are here to buy skis and go skiing, celebrate. And right now people are here to just support athletes and cheer and buy souvenirs, T-shirts, hats and all that kind of stuff."

The scene in the village on Monday morning was notably different from Thursday and Friday last week, when businesses were generally slow.

Before the Games began, Leigh Crawford, supervisor for Cows ice cream store, said business was steady but not as busy as expected.

"It'll be interesting to see how it plays out the next couple weeks," he had said. "We were expecting it to be really busy this whole month, but this past week or two has been really mellow. We'll see how it goes. Maybe it won't be as busy as we thought."

Hamid Azani from the Bread Garden echoed that theme.

"We have been slow," he said, leaning across the back counter of his restaurant.

Meanwhile, up on the mountains, Friday morning's 20-centimetre snow day was greeted with almost no lift lines and eerily quiet powder runs. Chairlift talk tended to revolve around how fantastic the snow was and whether this was what Whistler looked like 20 years ago.

"Today was epic," said Brodie Dunlob, sitting in the Roundhouse at lunchtime with an ear-splitting smile. "I am pretty surprised at how quiet it has been because I thought there would be loads of people in town with the Games and all the events."

Across the room Rebecka Groth said she has been trying to get up the mountain as much as possible, even though her work hours have increased with the Olympics.

"We had powder runs all day," said the seasonal worker. "I didn't realize it would be this quiet. I thought it would be a little quieter but I would say we have been surprised."

Business on the mountain picked up modestly on Sunday, following a 30-centimetre snowfall and clearing skies, although lift lines remained small. David Brownlie, president and chief operating officer for Whistler Blackcomb, said the slopes have been busier than Whistler Blackcomb originally forecasted and he speculated that the postponed downhill events helped lure athletes and Olympic workers up the mountains.

"We are extremely pleased with all the snow," he said. "Locals are getting up there and enjoying the snow and the really limited lineups... Everyone up there is having a wonderful time."

At a press conference last week, both Brownlie and Tourism Whistler President Barrett Fisher stressed the long-term economic impact of the Olympics.

"It is about these 17 days, but it is also about the 17 years afterwards," both said at different points of the press conference.

"I would add that I think the Games provide us with this really unique opportunity to tap into a whole new customer base that may not necessarily be in the winter, but may come back in the spring, summer and fall," added Fisher.

"While it has displaced our typical business, we are collecting information and making sure we can stay in contact with some of the new people."

Fisher also restated the impact of all the media currently in town who were putting Whistler in the international spotlight.

"The kind of profile Whistler will receive from that is worth its weight in gold."