Jordan Manley Crowned 'King of Storms' Third Year in a Row At 4th Annual Deep Winter Photo Challenge, Presented by Acr'Teryx and Whistler Blackcomb

JORDAN MANLEY CROWNED ‘KING OF STORMS’ THIRD YEAR IN A ROW AT 4th ANNUAL DEEP WINTER PHOTO CHALLENGE, PRESENTED BY ARC’TERYX, WHISTLER BLACKCOMB
Paul Morrison takes 2nd place and Award for Best-In-Show photo. Nicolas Teichrob takes 3rd place.

WHISTLER, BC, January 11, 2010 – For three years in a row Jordan Manley has taken top spot at the Deep Winter Photo Challenge, presented by Arc’teryx. His style and skill behind the lens was most impressive with his epic powder shots, unique angels, tree climbing and underwater shots that left the crowd in awe and narrowly squeezed competitor Paul Morrison out of top spot.

After an incredible, snowy start the winter and for the first time in the four-year history of the event, the January storm cycle that typically pounds the coastal range took a little break giving way to calmer weather and more sunshine than normal for this time of year. With the weather on their side five pro photographers were sent out Monday January 4th with three days to shoot, edit and prepare for the final show on Thursday, January 7 at 8pm.

This year’s pro photographer line up included Manley, 1st place and now three time winner of the event; the legendary Morrison, 2nd place plus Best In-Show-Photo and first ever “King of Storms” ; Nicolas Teichrob, 3rd place with an impressive debut at the event, and well-known, crowd pleasing and highly publicized pro snowboard photographers Colin Adair and Brian Hockenstein.

“As always, the Deep Winter Photo Challenge proved to be a tiring, but fun four days,” says Manley. “We worked hard and tried to be as creative as possible. This year differed in that the sun came out, and we ended up venturing out of the forest and into the alpine, which was weird, but great.”

The judging line-up included iconic photographers Dano Pendygrasse, Eric Berger, Canadian Press and long time Whistler photographer Bonny Makarewicz, as well as Tom Duguid of ARC’TERYX and Mike Berard, past photo editor of SBC Skier Magazine, ski writer and communications specialist at Origin Design and Communications.

“I love this event,” says Berard. “It never fails to inspire me, both to ski and to shoot photographs. The quality of the work produced in these three days is incredible and everyone involved should be proud. The high caliber of the slideshows - especially Paul's and Jordan's - made for a very tough decision in the judging room."

The Deep Winter Photo Challenge, presented by ARC’TERYX kicked off the GORE-TEX Deep Winter Experience, which ran through to January 10, featuring free avalanche awareness tours, Extremely Canadian ski clinics and great discounts on GORE-TEX outerwear.

For more information on the GORE-TEX Deep Winter Experience line-up of events please visit www.whistlerblackcomb.com/deepwinter.

Consistently ranked as North America's top ski and snowboard resort, Whistler Blackcomb continues to raise the level of mountain excitement for its guests. With the landmark PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola opening December 12, the return of the popular Symphony Amphitheatre, and a host of other on-mountain improvements, this winter promises to be one of the most exciting yet. Located a scenic two-hour drive north of Vancouver, Canada up the spectacular 'Sea to Sky' Highway, this resort is home to Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, which boast one vertical mile of incredible skiing. With over 16 alpine bowls, three glaciers, 200 trails, and 8,171 acres of skiable terrain, the choices of where and what to ski/ride at Whistler Blackcomb from beginner to advanced terrain are staggering. Joined at the base by a vibrant pedestrian village filled with award-winning après bars, restaurants, patios, cafes, shops, galleries and spas, and surrounded by breathtaking scenery, this four-season resort is spectacular. For more information www.whistlerblackcomb.com.

About Intrawest ULC
Intrawest is a world leader in experiential destination resorts. The company has interests in ten resorts at North America’s most popular mountain destinations including Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Intrawest network also includes Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world, Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and Club Intrawest—a private resort club with locations throughout North America. In addition, Intrawest develops real estate at its resorts and at other locations across North America and in Europe. Intrawest is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, visit www.intrawest.com