Whistler-Blackcomb resort, site of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, reopened on schedule Wednesday after an ice buildup in a gondola tower caused it to partially snap Tuesday with dozens of people riding in the gondolas, said safety officials.
"Preliminary inspection by B. C. safety officers has determined that this was an isolated incident of water contamination in a tower tube which caused a tower joint flange to fail due to ice jacking," Greg Paddon, safety manager with BC Safety Authority, said in a statement Wednesday.
"There is no justification at this time that other installations operating at Whistler-Blackcomb have been affected by a similar failure."
The authority also said it was unlikely any operating permits would be rescinded on any lifts now operating at Whistler-Blackcomb except the Excalibur gondola, which is the lift that was affected.
Doug Forseth, the resort's senior vice-president, said all chairlifts on both mountains were inspected to ensure they are operating safely. He said crews worked until early Wednesday to conduct a secondary inspection of all chairlifts.
"We will take all precautions to make sure this never happens again. . . . We are going to work very hard to restore confidence,"he told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.
The preliminary inspection was completed by a team of 20 maintenance staff from the resort.
Officials said that because of extremely cold temperatures, ice buildup in the two parts of the tower that are spliced together led to a "rupture, an extremely unusual situation referred to as 'ice-jacking.'"
Forseth said the incident was an isolated one. "I know of only one other case of this happening in North America," he said.
Investigators with the RCMP and safety agencies remained on the mountain Wednesday, continuing their examination into the incident, which stranded 53 passengers and injured 10.
The support tower for the Excalibur gondola, which carries skiers from Whistler Village to the top of Blackcomb Mountain, snapped Tuesday afternoon.
None of the eight-passenger gondola cars came off the cable but one came to rest on a bus shelter, forcing fire officials to use a hydraulic ladder to unload passengers.
In all, 15 to 20 cars on the lower base of the gondola were stranded for several hours.
An official said that the Excalibur has not been involved in any accidents since its installation in 1994.
Olympic Games officials said late Tuesday the Excalibur gondola was not expected to be used as transportation to or from any Olympic venues
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