Restorations are underway at the old Crystal Mountain Resort near West Kelowna.
After five years of closure following a ski-lift accident, the ski resort has been given new life thanks to Don Journeay and his partner Jenny Giesbrecht.
“I came up here out of the blue and saw it was destroyed,” Don Journeay, general manager of Bull Mountain Resort, told Global News on Thursday. “I knew I had to do something right away.”
Now named Bull Mountain Adventure Park, Journeay has major plans for the resort, including opening up the property to year-round activities.
Mountain biking, camping as well as a possible music festival in the summer, are all possibilities. He also wants to install a gondola to the top of the mountain.
Journeay says he has a personal connection to the resort that prompted him to take on this project.
“I used to work here in the ’90s; I was up here working in every department,” said Journeay. “I raised my kids here.”
While Journeay has been hard at work developing his vision for the new Bull Mountain Adventure Park, he has not been alone. He has a group of volunteers that are helping him and his partner, with the process.
“We’re putting together a great bunch of people who have shared their time and efforts with us, cleaning the mess the vandals have done over the years,” said Journeay.
According to Journeay, most of the ski runs will not be ready for this winter, but the skating rink, coffee house and maybe the bunny hill will be opening in the new year.
The former Crystal Mountain resort was mired in legal issues after several people were hurt on the ski lift in 2014. Four chairs on the Blue Chairlift plunged to the ground on March 1, 2014, after the carriage support cable fell off tower equipment.
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