Cracked hanger linked to gondola failure at B.C.’s Kicking Horse ski resort
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
VANCOUVER – Technical Safety BC says a cracked component in a gondola system at Kicking Horse Mountain ski resort was one of “several abnormal conditions” that led to a cabin falling to the ground last March.
The safety agency’s report says eight passengers were inside the cabin on March, 10, 2025, when a hanger arm broke shortly after leaving the station at the bottom of the mountain near Golden in the B.C. Interior.
The report says the cabin fell about 1 1/2 metres, and passengers reported minor injuries.
Technical Safety BC’s report said staff tried to restart the gondola to get stuck patrons out, but the broken hanger arm became “lodged” in a tower, preventing the gondola from moving, and a manual rope evacuation took several hours to complete.
“Some guests were stuck in gondola cabins for a total of approximately seven and a half hours,” the report said.
The report found the failure happened due to the “unlikely convergence of several abnormal conditions,” including brittleness in the hanger arm, “major impacts” during operations that exacerbated the crack in the arm and a failure to identify it during inspections before it grew to a “critical size.”
The hanger arm, the report said, had “very low toughness,” making it susceptible to problems from impacts.
“During operation, a large dent to the failed hanger arm gusset suggests it was subject to one or more large impacts with the station structure during operation,” the report said. “It is likely these major impacts played a critical role in the propagation of the crack.”
Technical Safety BC’s report said inspection records didn’t identify any concerns about the hanger arm, while “inconsistent follow-through by the resort” meant that gondola cars weren’t entering stations “smoothly” to reduce stress on the arm.
The report recommends that manufacturers use materials that have “low temperature fracture toughness properties,” and identify components made with cold bent galvanized steel.
Operators are recommended to remove gondola cars from service if they strike other structures.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2026.