The Revelstoke Mountain Resort is closed for the rest of the season.
Announced on their website, the company said the early closure is due to staff shortages from COVID-19 in their mountain operations division, a job section of the resort that includes lift operators and ski patrol.
The resort was scheduled to end the season on April 5. Yesterday, the resort said it may only close for today (March 31), but in a recent posting the company confirmed it needed to completely end the season early.
READ MORE: COVID-19 closes Revelstoke Mountain Resort
Vice President of Operations Peter Nielsen thanked the staff and local community for support this season.
“The collective passion shared by our employees and residents is what makes Revelstoke so special. I cannot think of a better place to work, play or live.”
He said a handful of employees caught COVID-19, which forced more than 20 staff members to go into quarantine, including key people in the safety team.
Nielsen said the resort had to close as it could not continue to operate safety. Although the company reached out to local mountain guides to fill the vacant jobs, some staff positions require a very specific skill set, such as explosives for avalanche control and lift evacuation. Scrambling to find new staff proved impossible.
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The resort opened Nov. 27 and operated for 124 days. In an earlier interview with Black Press Media in January, Nielsen said the pandemic had reduced ticket sales this season by more than 60 per cent.
The company said if people have unused lift tickets for this season to emailrmrbookings@revelstokemtn.com for a full refund or for credit towards next winter.
The resort said it expects to kick off the summer season on May 21 with the opening of the Pipe Mountain Coaster.
On March 29, the province forced Whistler Blackcomb to close during a spike in COVID-19 cases. The province has not revealed how many cases are connected to the coastal resort.
While in the last weekly update (March 14 to 20), there were only two new cases of COVID-19 in Revelstoke, other businesses have had recent staff exposures, such as Red Cedar Physiotherapy.
The next weekly COVID-19 numbers for Revelstoke are expected this evening (March 31).
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:jocelyn.doll@revelstokereview.com
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