Crystal Mountain remains closed

WEST KELOWNA — As the investigation into why three chairs fell off a lift at Crystal Mountain  continues, the ski resort will remain closed this weekend and it’s unknown if it will re-open before the end of the season.

According to a news release from Crystal Mountain, all four people injured are recovering.

“Three skiers have been released from Kelowna Local Hospital, while one remains under professional care,” the release stated.

The four injured include a 16-year-old ski instructor, his 45-year-old student and a husband and wife who are part of the ski patrol.

“The wife, who received the most serious injuries, will remain in care for the next two weeks. She received some broken ribs, a broken clavicle and damage to some vertebrae tips, but no spinal cord damage.  Accordingly, she is now out of the Intensive Care Unit,” according to the release.

“Until I know our lifts are 100 percent safe, we will remain closed. We are doing everything in our power to assist the investigation so we can get the resort back up and running as soon as possible,” said Crystal Mountain general manager, Mike Morin.

“Safety is always my number one concern for both guests and staff.”

The BC Safety Authority is conducting a full investigation to determine what caused the crash. They issued a statement Thursday saying Crystal Mountain’s operating licence has been suspended pending results of the investigation.

“Preliminary findings indicate that a swinging chair struck a tower causing a full deropement,” said Jason Gill with the BC Safety Authority. “A non-functioning tensioning system was also discovered and is being considered as a possible contributing factor to the incident. We have now been able to get the chairlift to an operational state and the next phase of the investigation will require dynamic tests in order to perform further analysis of the installation.”

Counseling has been provided for staff members.

The ski resort is hoping to re-open next Thursday, pending the results of the investigation. Crystal Mountain is slated to close for the season on March 23rd.