Riding a gondola above the ski run at Mont Orford, Que., a ski area inside a provincial park.

While we were sleeping this summer under the sun, ski area operators were doing anything but.

The shock of the summer had to be Intrawest's quiet announcement that it's under new ownership. As owner of Whistler/Blackcomb, Tremblant, Blue Mountain ski resorts, the company carries huge clout in the ski biz.

Intrawest's innovations -- pedestrian villages, condo proliferation and resort-owner-cum-realtor -- are copied worldwide.

So the news that Intrawest had been purchased by Fortress Investment Group was major. True, the sale was an attempt by Intrawest, a public company, to ward off a takeover by aptly named Pirate Capital -- a hedge fund with a reputation for buying up a company's stock then carving it into chunks and selling them for profit. (Think Richard Gere in Pretty Woman.)

Fortress may take Intrawest private. Then what? Rumour has it Intrawest is hoping Fortress will keep the company intact but who knows.

Whistler's worldwide reputation is pretty darn good -- it might be worth a lot of dough. And Fortress is a New York company full of business guys and gals in blue suits.

Let's just hope they're also skiers and allow Intrawest to keep on keepin' on, because in many ways, Intrawest's current structure is awfully good for skiers.

Then there's the endless saga of Mont Orford in Quebec.

To make a very long story short, there's talk of developing the area further, starting with ski-in, ski-out condos. But some locals and environmentalists argue further development of a ski area that's inside a provincial park is setting a bad precedent.

At press time, they were going for national park status to keep the area as is. Meanwhile, Orford's future hangs in the balance.

There is also trouble in the mountain air of another government park -- Mount Norquay inside Banff National Park.

Former owner Kika Grandi -- mom of alpine race ace Thomas Grandi -- and her partner Peter White tried and failed to keep Norquay afloat. Along with sister Banff areas Lake Louise and Sunshine, they battled Heritage Canada to develop the area to keep pace with innovative resorts like Whistler/Blackcomb.

But since the days of former heritage minister Sheila Copps, upgrades and development has been tough for Banff areas. Ecological integrity has won out.

As a result, some owners say, making a profit is tough. Grandi and White wanted to expand into summer operations to earn Norquay some cash, but Heritage Canada turned down the deal. In late September, the two sold out lock-stock-and-barrel to Ken Read and partners.

Likely Canada's most well-known skier, Read is a Crazy Canuck and current head of this country's national ski team.

Who knows if he has enough clout to glean from Heritage Canada what Norquay needs to make it--and other Banff ski areas -- profitable. Stay tuned.