Mammoth Mountain Ski Area hires investment advisor Listed: NYSE TSX Symbols: IDR (NYSE) ITW (TSX) VANCOUVER, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Intrawest Corporation, one of the world's leading destination resort and adventure-travel companies, confirmed today that at the request of Mr. Dave McCoy, founder and controlling shareholder of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area has engaged Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin as their exclusive financial advisor to explore strategic alternatives to enhance the value of the company's shares, including the possible sale of shares. Intrawest will work cooperatively with the Mammoth management team to assist with the process. Since 1995, Mammoth Mountain has been a key asset in Intrawest's network of resorts, and in that time it has grown from 900,000 annual skier visits to over 1.4 million skier visits last year. Intrawest remains committed to the vision of Mammoth. "We are proud of the success we have had and will continue to work with Dave McCoy, Rusty Gregory and their team toward our vision of transforming Mammoth to a world-class destination," said Joe Houssian, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Intrawest. As part of the initial Shareholder's Agreement, Intrawest has a right of first refusal to acquire shares offered to third parties. Similarly, Intrawest has the right to sell its shares. Such decisions will be made at the appropriate time at Intrawest's discretion. However, a transaction may not ultimately materialize or be consummated. In December 1995 Intrawest acquired a 33 per cent interest in Mammoth, increasing its interest to 51 per cent in November 1997, 58 per cent in January 1998 and 59.5 per cent in April 1999. Intrawest's ownership in the real estate portfolio at Mammoth remains unchanged and is not the subject of the current initiative. Intrawest Corporation (IDR:NYSE; ITW:TSX) is one of the world's leading destination resort and adventure-travel companies. Intrawest has interests in 10 mountain resorts in North America's most popular mountain destinations, including Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company owns Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world, and a 67% interest in Abercrombie & Kent, the world leader in luxury adventure travel. The Intrawest network also includes Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and Club Intrawest - a private resort club with nine locations throughout North America. Intrawest is developing five additional resort villages at locations in North America and Europe. Intrawest is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, visit http://www.intrawest.com/. Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Intrawest's actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, Intrawest's ability to implement its business strategies, seasonality, weather conditions, competition, general economic conditions, currency fluctuations and other risks detailed in the company's filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. For additional information, please contact Mr. John Currie, chief financial officer, at (604) 669-9777 or Mr. Tim McNulty, director, investor relations at (604) 623-6620 or at . If you would like to receive future news releases by email, please contact DATASOURCE: Intrawest Corporation CONTACT: Mr. John Currie, chief financial officer, at (604) 669-9777 or Mr. Tim McNulty, director, investor relations at (604) 623-6620 or at ; To request a free copy of this organization's annual report, please go to http://www.newswire.ca/ and click on reports@cnw.

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