The Mont-Sainte-Anne (MSA) station has obtained the green light from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) to put the Étoile filante ski lift back into service, four months after the fall of a gondola. The reopening is scheduled for Saturday morning, the operator said.
The RBQ announced on Friday that it is lifting its entire order relating to the shutdown of the ski lifts of the resort operated by the Alberta company Resorts of the Canadian Rockies. MSA has fulfilled the various conditions set out in the order of December 16.
These included a safety clearance signed by an engineer and verification of moving parts on all attachments for detachable aerial lifts.
The RBQ also required a training plan for staff and an expert report to explain the malfunction of the equipment at the Étoile filante lift. The recommendations should also apply to other detachable aerial lifts.
“We have closely monitored all of the work carried out by the MSA over the past few months, leading up today to the lifting of the order,” RBQ President and CEO Michel Beaudoin said in a statement.
“In addition, we demanded in January the implementation of a double verification procedure for all MSA aerial lifts allowing more precise control to ensure that the installations are safe”, he said. -he adds.
Last January, the RBQ partially lifted the ordinance by authorizing the return to service of the Express du Sud, Express du Nord, Panorama Express and Tortue lifts.
The order stemmed from an incident that occurred on December 10 on the Etoile Filante ski lift. Just before the station opened, a gondola had crashed to the ground. No passengers were on board and no one was injured.
In an update on its site on Friday, the management of Mont-Sainte-Anne is delighted to have obtained all the safety approvals allowing the resumption of activity on Saturday morning of the Shooting Star “for the last miles of the season” .
“Over the past few weeks, we have worked closely with the experts to carry out an exhaustive analysis of the ascent as well as of all our operating practices and procedures, with the aim of ensuring a fully safe return of the Gondola,” said Maxime Cretin, Vice President and General Manager, Eastern Region, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies.
“At the same time, we have also put in place additional control procedures with the participation of all our operating teams in order to go beyond regulatory requirements,” it continues in the statement.
The Mont-Sainte-Anne station is located in the town of Beaupré, about forty kilometers east of Quebec.