SAM Magazine—Beaupré, Québec, Jan. 10, 2023—The Quebec Building Authority (RBQ) cleared four of Mont-Sainte-Anne’s (MSA) chairlifts to reopen on Jan. 8, but not the gondola. The resort closed after an unoccupied gondola cabin detached from the line and fell to the ground prior to opening on Dec. 10, 2022, the latest in a series of lift malfunctions that have drawn the scrutiny of the RBQ, Quebec’s safety watchdog.

On Dec. 16, 2022, the RBQ ordered all of MSA’s aerial lifts to remain closed until the resort could meet certain requirements and produce needed documentation. To reopen, MSA’s operator, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, had to submit a training plan for its staff, check moving parts on all attachments of detachable aerial lifts, provide an expert report to explain the malfunction of the equipment of the gondola (L'Étoile Filante) and apply its recommendations to other detachable aerial lifts, and submit a safety certificate signed by an engineer for detachable aerial lifts.

“The Mont-Sainte-Anne station provided us with all the evidence and requirements to partially lift the order concerning four aerial lifts,” RBQ president and CEO Michel Beaudoin said in a statement. “The reopening of L'Étoile Filante will depend on the pace of compliance with the requirements set out in the order by the operator.”

According to the statement, MSA gradually submitted documentation to the RBQ between Dec. 24, 2022, and Jan. 5, 2023, which was satisfactory for RBQ to authorize L'Express du Sud, L'Express du Nord, La Panorama Express and La Tortue lifts to reopen Jan. 8. 

The gondola won’t be allowed to reopen until MSA meets the conditions of the RBQ order, which includes obtaining a safety certificate signed by an engineer.

MSA is open today with 27 of 71 trails served by three aerial lifts and a conveyor. 

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