WHISTLER BLACKCOMB’S PEAK 2 PEAK GONDOLA CABLE REELS UNLOADED AT PORT OF VANCOUVER USA

June 12, 2008

WHISTLER, BC, June 12, 2008 – The PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola cable reels touched down on North American soil at the Port of Vancouver USA late on Tuesday, after making their way across the Atlantic and through the Panama Canal on the Star Indiana vessel. On Wednesday, it took all day to load them onto a train en route to Whistler. They are expected to arrive in Whistler on June 16 at 2pm.

The Port of Vancouver USA owns the largest mobile harbour crane in North America. The port’s heavy-lift mobile harbour crane – a Liebherr LHM500 – is capable of lifting 140 metric tonnes, or the equivalent of two space shuttles. The PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola cargo is the heaviest cargo the Port of Vancouver USA has lifted to date.

“With our mobile harbour crane, the Port of Vancouver USA has become known as a port that can handle extremely heavy cargo,” said Executive Director Larry Paulson.

The PEAK 2 PEAK cargo includes four reels of track ropes, each weighing approximately 90 metric tonnes, and one smaller reel of haul rope, weighing more than 80 metric tonnes. This is a total of approximately 28 kilometres of cable. These cables – built by renowned Swiss cable manufacturer, Fatzer – are an important component for Whistler Blackcomb’s world-record breaking PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola. The gondola will be up and running this December; over a year before the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games come to town.

From Vancouver, WA, the cables will travel by train along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and the Canadian National Railway (New Westminster).

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The cables were built by Fatzer, a Swiss company that develops, manufactures and markets high-quality wire ropes worldwide.

OmniTrans of New York is working with its European partner General Transport in arrangements for the entire move. The two partners have coordinated the logistics from collection at the factory through delivery to the job site. Logistics include the barge move from the Basil Rhine Port in Switzerland to Vlissingen, The Netherlands; the Atlantic Ocean crossing on the Star Indiana to Vancouver, WA; the unloading of cables onto rail cars; the rail trip to Canada; the transfer from rail to truck in Whistler; and the transportation from the rail yard up Blackcomb Mountain.

Getting the reels off the train at Mons Road in Whistler and onto the heavy-duty truck trailer is going to be quite the feat. To handle the 90-tonne reels, a German-made Goldhofer heavy-haulage trailer and tractor is making its way from Montreal to Whistler to take care of the transport from the train yard up the mountain.

“The final route from the Mons Road rail siding in Whistler, will be the biggest challenge of the entire project,” says Hermann Amsz, chairman and chief executive officer of OmniTrans. “We have to bring all the reels up the mountain to 6,103 feet (1, 860m) above sea level on Blackcomb Mountain using a special Goldhofer trailer, which has four sections with six axles each. Each axle has eight wheels. The trailer also features a hydraulic sliding system, which will enable the reels to be unloaded from the railcars in Whistler without a crane.”

Since there is no crane to lift each reel onto the truck, this specially designed trailer features sliding steel plates that essentially scoop the load from the train and set it onto the trailer deck.

Once the cable reaches the Rendezvous Restaurant on Blackcomb Mountain, it will take 12 to 14 weeks to string the cable across the valley. The final stages of the project, including the cable stringing, will be managed by industry leader and ski lift manufacturer, Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group.