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Two snow boarders atop the Blackcombe glacierJOHN LEHMANN

The North American ski industry has been hit hard by the global recession and will not likely recover for another two seasons, says the chief executive officer of Intrawest, owner of the 2010 Winter Olympics venue Whistler Blackcomb.

Bill Jensen told a ski industry conference Tuesday that the recovery will not be V-shaped, but more "like a hockey stick" and that signs of a recovery won't likely appear until the 2011-12 season.

He said the industry has slashed prices and sacrificed revenue gains built up over the past couple of years.

In the December-January period, Mr. Jensen said the economy was bad, but that it didn't really hit consumers until February-March of this year.

The result, he said, was a "noticeable fall off" in revenues.

"What happened in February-March is the norm now," Mr. Jensen said at the Canadian Ski Council's annual conference in Whistler, B.C.

"People just don't want to open their wallet ... . What we offer isn't something people are required to have. It's optional."

In fact, he said the new Peak-2-Peak gondola, which just opened at Whistler-Blackcomb, may not have be constructed had the plan been to build it this year.

"As they say, timing is everything," Mr. Jensen told conference attendees.

The conference was focused in part on how the recession has impacted revenues in the ski industry.

However, Mr. Jensen said the economic slump isn't the only factor behind falling revenues.

He said poor snow conditions at certain ski destinations this past season have also hit resorts hard.

The Canadian Ski Council released statistics Tuesday showing the number of skiers and snowboarders to hit Canadian slopes fell 10 per cent year-over-year to 18.4 million visitors, down from a record 20.5 million visitors in the 2007-08 season.

Mr. Jensen said some benefits of the 2010 Winter Olympics include improved infrastructure and the pride it brings local communities and athletes, but more money may not be one of them.

"There are a lot of positive things, but I don't know if it will ever be measured in dollars," Mr. Jensen said.

"The jury is out on whether we will experience ... a longer-term sustained bump."

Intrawest has been struggling financially since being bought in 2006 by New York-based private equity fund Fortress Investment Group LLC for $2.8-billion (U.S.) in cash and debt.

The deal was a leveraged buyout with a $1.7-billion loan which came due last fall, when the financial meltdown hit.

Fortress scrambled to refinance the loan after Intrawest, which holds the debt, was pushed to the brink of creditor protection.

Intrawest is considering the sale of many of its assets to improve its balance sheet. It is reportedly in talks to sell its Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida to a local developer.

Intrawest is not expected to unload jewels such as Whistler-Blackcomb, but there is some speculation it may consider financing some of its businesses independently, such as Mont Tremblant in Quebec.

Mr. Jensen would not comment Tuesday on potential sale talks or the state of the company's debt position.

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