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What to expect this week (Mar. 25)

• ⛰️The story of Whistler’s rise to a $1.4B acquisition

• Monday’s Monster Pick 🐲

• ⛏️ Latest Mining/Exploration News

Located just a couple hours from the hub of the early-stage, public company haven that is Vancouver, lies one of the world’s greatest ski resorts, Whistler.

What’s known today as a premier ski destination and worldwide winter vacation spot was once a humble mountain with visionaries who built it into a thriving public company that was acquired for over $1B.

Humble beginnings

In the 1960’s, Franz Wilhelmsen, now known as “The Father of Whistler”, and several of his business partners started developing plans to build Whistler mountain in hopes of hosting the upcoming Olympic Games in 1968.

They established the Garibaldi Lift Company and raised the money needed for Whistlers development from investors.

They raised $800,000 in the offering and after a few years of development the mountain was ready.

They opened to the public on February 15, 1965 with a four-passenger gondola, a two-seat chairlift, two T-bar lifts, essential lodges at the base, mid-mountain, and the summit, along with six ski runs.

Whistler surges

In the 70s, Whistler was in it’s growth phase, focusing on expanding its ski capabilities with new lifts and runs to accommodate an increasing number of visitors.

This era also saw crucial infrastructure improvements, including the enhancement of roads and the development of Whistler Village.

The introduction of summer activities, such as mountain biking and hiking, diversified Whistler's appeal to global tourism.

Blackcomb Mountain's development initiated in the 1980s expanded the areas terrain, and in 1997, Intrawest, a real estate development company that had already acquired Blackcomb Mountain, bought Whistler Mountain, leading to the merger of the two once rival mountains.

The introduction of the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, connecting the two mountains, established Whistler as one of the largest mountains in the world.

In the early 2000’s, Whistler and Vancouver made strategic bids for the Winter Olympics, with their sights set firmly on the 2010 games.

Their successful bid was announced in 2003, and construction on facilities to support the games began immediately.

In 2010, Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “WB” with an initial public offering (IPO) price of $12.50 per share and market cap of over $500 million.

In 2016, Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN) acquired Whistler Blackcomb for $1.4 billion.

The resort has been operated by Vail ever since and continues to be one of the world’s greatest ski destinations.

👋 Colton, Stock Monster.

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This newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. We have not been compensated in any way for this pick or content; we genuinely just like it. Assume that contributors to articles own or have interest in stocks they talk about, therefore may be biased.