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 Friday that it is lifting its entire order relating to the shutdown of the ski lifts of the station 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 security 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 Etoile 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 required in January the implementation of a double verification procedure for all of the MSA’s aerial lifts allowing for more detailed 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 a Dec. 10 incident on the Etoile Filante ski lift. Just before the station opened, a gondola crashed to the ground. No passengers were on board and no one was injured.
In an update on its site on Friday, Mont-Sainte-Anne management 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 experts to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the ascent and all of our operating practices and procedures, with the goal 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 operations 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.
