Salomon Superpipe, Whistler B.C. (Matt Walker)

Whistler Ski and Snowboard Festival: Important dates Video Preview Festival: In Photos

Whistler's Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival (TWSSF) kicks into gear April 13-22. The question waiting to be answered during this cheeky 10-day fest is ... what if Ullr -- the Viking snow god -- was actually a girl?

Whistler Blackcomb irreverently questioned Ullr's sex last fall, and set upon a search for the ultimate skiing or snowboarding goddess in a contest called If Ullr Was A Girl.

Ripping a page from the American Idol handbook, WB established a web site (ifullrwasagirl.com) where women who ski and snowboard could post profiles and toss their helmets into the Ullr ring as contenders. Online voting ensued, akin to a massive skiing and snowboarding popularity contest.

"We were blown away by the response," Christina Moore, WB's head of communications, says.

Of more than 400 contestants, 16 finalists were chosen -- 10 pros and six amateurs. Among them X Games champ skier Sarah Burke from Midland, plus snowboarders Leanne Pelosi and Mercedes Nicoll.

All are enroute to Whistler to compete in a series of competitions during TWSSF. The ultimate prize: A $25,000-cash purse, an exclusive photo shoot, a part in a hip ski movie, plus the Ullr Girl crown.

Criteria is complicated. Think Miss America contest, only much more athletic. Basically, the woman who scores the best cumulative score in a series of competitions will be declared Ullr Girl.

Categories include the most votes on ifullrwasagirl.com and competition in both the TWSSF Stompede and a big mountain contest. Athletes will also be asked to choose an art form -- photography, film, art or music -- to present Monday, April 16.

FASHION SHOW

Online voting for the Ullr Girl ends Wednesday, April 18 at 9 p.m. The Ullr Girl will be crowned at the Festival's Big Air on Saturday, April 21.

Women are definitely headlining at this year's festival. Fashion Exposed is a sexy, style-savvy ski and ride fashion show scheduled for April 20 at Whistler's Convention Centre. Last year's show brought down the house.

New this year, emerging designers have competed in the Designer Search and Expose contest. The winner, chosen by online voting, has five minutes of runway glory April 20 among established designers from Rossignol, Burton, Roxy and Bonfire.

The annual Photographer and Filmmaker Snowdowns -- competitions between the industry's best photographers and filmmakers -- continue to be the festival's most notorious nights out. Artists will showcase urban street art in an event called Brave Art, and Words & Stories features ski writers telling lots and lots of skiing-related stories.

Music plays a massive part in this year's TWSSF. Most of the concerts are outside and free. Sam Roberts, K'naan and Stephen Marley (Bob's son) -- plus many more -- make an eclectic mix.

And of course, sports continue to rule the fest. There's a stompede, a big air, a rail session, plus the World Backcountry Freeride Jam -- a 26-km backcountry race that starts at the top of Whistler Mountain. It's the first competition sanctioned by the International Council for Ski Mountaineering to happen in Canada and it's only happening at the festival.

For more info on the Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival, visit whistler2007.com.