UPDATE: Crystal Mountain closed for upcoming ski season

WEST KELOWNA – Crystal Mountain Resort will not be open for the upcoming ski and boarding season.

“I'm sad to announce that the mountain will not be in operation for the upcoming 2014-2015 winter season,” according to a message posted to the West Kelowna ski resort’s Facebook page.

The message goes on to say it’s not the end for Crystal Mountain. Management intends to open the ski hill for the 2015-2016 season. Season pass holders will get a refund.

The loss of the 2014-2015 ski season is the latest bad news for the small West Kelowna ski resort.

The ski hill was forced to close early last winter after a chairlift malfunction left several people seriously injured.

The B.C. Safety Authority suspended Crystal Mountain’s operating licence pending the results of a full investigation.

The investigation is finished, but according to Quinn Newcomb with the authority, there is "quite a bit of work to be done" on the resort before it satisfies safety standards.

Newcomb says 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.

Attempts to reach Crystal Mountain General Manager Mike Morin for comment have been unsuccessful.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— This story was update at 9:17 a.m., Monday, Sept. 15, 2014 to add new information from the B.C. Safety Authority provided by The Canadian Press.