Crystal Mountain, a ski resort near West Kelowna, B.C., will not be open for the 2014-2015 winter ski season. In March, the BC Safety Authority said it was suspending Crystal Mountain’s operating license pending the results of a full investigation following a chairlift derailment that sent four people to the hospital.
Quinn Newcomb of the BC Safety Authority said the suspension is in the interest of public safety and the resort will be allowed to operate once it meets the authority’s conditions.
“Back in July, BC Safety Authority provided a number of instructions to Crystal Mountain in terms of regulated work that would need to be done for it to resume the operation,” he says. “To our knowledge this work has yet to be completed so the operating licence remains suspended.”
“BC Safety Authority will not issue an operating licence until we’re satisfied that the lift is safe for public use,” Newcomb says.
Newcomb could not provide details on the exact nature of the work and how far along the resort was to meeting the authority’s standards.
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