SAM Magazine—Golden, British Columbia, March 10, 2025 [updated March 11, 11:40 a.m. EDT]—A gondola cabin with eight passengers inside fell from the Golden Eagle Express gondola at Kicking Horse Resort this morning. The detachment occurred shortly after the cabin left the lower terminal. No injuries have been reported.

All lifts were shut down following the incident and the resort provided the following update on its online snow report:

“At 9:20 am, an incident occurred involving a cabin at the base terminal of Golden Eagle Express gondola. Our patrol team and first responders were rapidly dispatched on scene.

“Our trained maintenance team will be working to unload the passengers as per standard operating procedures. A full inspection has been initiated to determinate and analyze root causes. Teams from the manufacturer and relevant authorities have been called in to further assist. No lifts will be open to the public today, the resort will be closed for the remainder of the day. Please note Golden Eagle Express gondola will remain closed until further notice.

An update will be provided later today with regards to regular operations.”

A representative from Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR), which operates Kicking Horse, didn’t specify how passengers were being unloaded as of Monday afternoon, but the resort provided the following updates on Monday evening at 7:55 p.m. MDT:

"Based on preliminary findings, a lift hanger (aka hanger arm) broke while this carrier was leaving the bottom station, causing it to fall approximately one meter to the ground. Our patrol team and first responders were rapidly dispatched to the scene. Although there were eight passengers in the cabin, fortunately no one was seriously injured during the incident."

Kicking Horse added that guests were evacuated via rope rescue and helicopter rescue. The resort is operating with three lifts and reduced ticket prices as of Tuesday, March 11.

"Our sincere apologies go out to every one of our guests who have had to go through this experience today, and we thank them all for their patience and understanding," said Kicking Horse manager Richard Oszust.

According to Liftblog.com, 70 percent of resort terrain cannot be accessed without the Golden Eagle Express. 

RCR has come under fire in recent years after a string of lift incidents involving the gondola at Mont-Sainte-Anne in Quebec, also operated by RCR. 

More than 20 people were injured in February 2020 and another guest was injured a month later due to the gondola malfunctioning. Each time, the gondola came to a sudden stop during operation, also causing significant damage to cabins. The gondola closed for a year and underwent major upgrades before reopening in March 2021. 

Then, in December 2022, an empty cabin detached from the line prior to operating hours. No one was injured, but the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, which oversees the construction and inspection of ropeways in the province, ordered all detachable lifts at Mont-Sainte-Anne to close until RCR could meet certain requirements and produce needed documentation, including training plans and inspections. The resort shut down for nearly a month, and the gondola was not allowed to reopen until April 2023. 

These incidents resulted in legal action against RCR, which is still ongoing, as well as bids from other entities to acquire the operating lease of the resort from the government. There has been a public outcry for the government to end the lease with RCR. However, in December, RCR and the Quebec government announced a CA$100 million investment plan—with funding split evenly between the two entities—to modernize Mont-Sainte-Anne. 

More recently, amid strong resistance from the public and other entities, the government last week renewed RCR’s lease to operate the eastern portion of the resort, which includes a campground, mountain biking, and cross-country ski center. In response, several hundred people protested at the resort on Saturday, March 8.