Whistler Blackcomb’s been in midst of a P/R crisis this week, as a poorly communicated spring operations plan coincided with a powder cycle for the ski resort. This resulted in a brutally long lift line for the Excalibur Gondola on Monday.
On Tuesday night, Doug Pierini (Interim COO) and Doug Macfarlane (VP Of Mountain Operations) explained their reasoning behind the operations shift in a letter to guests. They apologized for the poor rollout and adjusted some of their lift operations. The Glacier Express, which was originally scheduled to be closed for maintenance, will now remain open.
The reason that the Blackcomb Glacier is closed is that they had to require maintenance in the springtime, which is required by their lift manufacturer and Technical Safety BC. They also need to do some load testing and work on the lift towers and stations.
In spite of the mistakes made earlier this week, I think it’s great that they apologized and acknowledged that they made some errors. I still think they should get the Blackcomb Gondola open for a few more weekdays though.
You can read their statement below.
Image Credits: Whistler Blackcomb, Happy Virtual Tours,
