A South Okanagan ski hill announced that it is resuming operations on Sunday, two days after an employee was fatally injured.
Police said the 70-year-old man got stuck underneath a Snowcat groomer at Baldy Mountain Resort, near Oliver, on Friday.
Several skiers and snowboarders visiting the mountain on Sunday described news of the death as devastating and expressed shock at what had taken place.
“I was just horrified, just an awful thing to happen,” said Baldy Mountain customer Vera Tep.
“Everyone is always very friendly, it’s a small hill…so losing a worker would be probably a big loss for everyone,” customer Katia Lafreniere said.
The ski hill was closed on Saturday as the incident was investigated.
In a social media post on Saturday, the ski hill said it had lost “a wonderful, caring, gentle and valued Baldy family member” in a “terrible accident.”
“We are devastated. The intense emotions we feel are beyond comprehension,” the ski hill said.
“Everyone at Baldy is working diligently with the authorities on this.”
Police said both the BC Coroners Service and WorksafeBC would be conducting “fact-finding investigations.”
After the one-day closure, the resort announced it would be partially resuming operations on Sunday.
The skill hill stated that one of its two chairlifts and its magic carpet would be operating on Sunday.
Global News reached out to the ski hill to request an interview.
A manager didn’t provide any comment stating she was with someone from WorkSafeBC and was too busy to talk.
— With files from Shelby Thom