SOLD (out??)!

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/08/12/bc-whitewater-ski-resort-sold.html

Sale of Whitewater ski hill raises emotions in Kootenays
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 | 8:19 PM ET

CBC News

A family-run ski hill in the B.C. Interior has been sold, stirring up mixed emotions among fans of the little mountain's legendary powder.

An Alberta company is in the final stages of closing a deal to buy the Whitewater Ski Resort just outside of Nelson, in British Columbia's southern Interior.

Unlike most ski hills in the province, which have been made into year-round destination resorts, Whitewater has no hotels, hot tubs, condos, fancy restaurants or golf links.

Instead, it relied on two lifts (one imported second-hand from Whistler decades ago) and a seemingly unending supply of fluffy Kootenay snow to keep its dedicated core of ski bums and powder hounds returning each year.

Whitewater's marketing manager, Anne Pigeon, said the deal has not been finalized but the Alberta businessmen want to take over the hill by the end of the month.

Deal stirs strong emotions
Nobody is saying yet how much the deal is worth, but once it is inked, the new owners will likely lay out their plans for the resort, Pigeon said.

She downplayed concerns the transfer would mark the beginning of the end for the hill's rustic, simple charm.

"They are also avid skiers, and they will be working toward maintaining the Whitewater culture," she said.

The sale of Whitewater stirred strong emotions for a lot of people in the Nelson area, including Peter Moynes, the publisher of Kootenay Mountain Culture magazine.

"They weren't selling $300,000 condos up there; it really was the real mom-and-pop deal. Jeez, I'm almost getting emotional thinking about it," Moynes said on Tuesday.