WHISTLER-BLACKCOMB TROUBLES

Ski resorts are not immune from financial troubles.

Word has it, according to anonymous sources speaking to THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, that ski resort Whistler-Blackcomb in British Columbia, which escaped auction last February --right in the middle of the Olympic Games -- when Intrawest was able to reach a deal with its creditors, may be sold to Vladimir Potanin, the billionaire who controls Russian Nickel mining giant Norilsk. Potanin also heads the firm building the resort near Sochi, host city for the 2014 Winter Olympics.