Dedication Taken To Another Level
Whistler, B.C. -Congratulations to Freeze Factor winner Greg Foxwell. The Ontario, Canada native turned Whistlerite stood attached to his snowboard in front of the Wizard Chairlift for 24 hours in and survived elimination challenges that included bobbing for kidneys in egg yolk, eating sauerkraut mixed with maple syrup, and stripping to the bare essentials in sub zero temperatures.
Foxwell wins an unlimited Whistler Blackcomb season pass for his efforts and with three of his friends was the first on the mountain this season, 100 chairs in front of the rest of the public.
Most participants agreed that the slurpee chug was the hardest challenge. Not only did contestants feel 'brain freeze,' but also their stomachs felt like they were in shock. Organisers were worried that this challenge would be the one to force contestants to withdraw, but the hearty crew recovered quickly to continue after a brief respite.
Event organiser Chris Strome said that, "in spite of the -12 Celsius (10 Fahrenheit) temperatures through the night, not one participant gave up. Each contestant had to be eliminated through the challenges. That sort of dedication shows the value of a Whistler Blackcomb season pass and adds to the glory of opening day."
By half way through the night, five contestants remained. The endurance challenges which included holding snowboards out at arms length and the wall sit eliminated iron man Yoshi Nishita, who had dominated multiple challenges to that point.
By 7:30 am, an enthusiastic crowd had gathered for the first chairlift ride of the year and to see the final contestants. Covered in frost from a cold night, and cheered on by hundreds of skiers and snowboarders, the contestants were asked to put on a t-shirt. The previous night, each t-shirt was soaked in water, tied in knots, crumpled into a ball and then placed in a freezer. After about 5 minutes of banging, stretching and pulling the shirt apart, Foxwell was able to overcome frozen fingers and put on the shirt to emerge as the 2003/04 Freeze Factor champion.
Blackcomb Mountain opened today with deep powder and exceptional early season conditions. Whistler Mountain opens on Thursday, November 27, 2003.
Whistler Blackcomb is owned and operated by Intrawest Corporation. Intrawest Corporation (IDR:NYSE; ITW:TSX) is the leading developer and operator of village-centered resorts across North America. The company owns nine mountain resorts, including Whistler Blackcomb, North America's most popular mountain resort. Intrawest also owns Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and has a premier vacation ownership business, Club Intrawest. The company has a 45 per cent interest in Alpine Helicopters Ltd., owner of Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world. Intrawest is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia and is located on the World Wide Web at www.intrawest.com.
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