Pictured is a screenshot from a YouTube video shot at Bull Mountain Adventure Park near West Kelowna, Monday, Feb. 17, 2020.
Image Credit: YOUTUBE / Johnathon Riesebos
February 18, 2020 - 2:00 PM
It’s not a secret that West Kelowna’s family ski hill is getting infused with new life.
Bull Mountain Adventure Park is being built on the remnants of Crystal Mountain Resort, and Don Journeay and Jenny Giesbrect have been working tirelessly with a small team to create a ski hill the community can embrace.
While plans to get it up and running by this season aren't coming together as planned, the hill is still getting used on weekends by families keen on tobogganing or even skating — as was the case this weekend, for Family Day.
The natural assets and the work Journeay and Giesbrecht have put into it are featured in a brief video by Jonathan Riesebos and posted on YouTube.
"Don and Jenny have been working hard to open the Bull Mountain Adventure Park in West Kelowna. They need your help. Post in the Facebook group to find out how you can help bring back this Ski Hill," he wrote.
Journeay started taking care of the space three years ago in January, and this year he took a serious step toward bringing it back to life under the name Bull Mountain Adventure Park.
“When I went there the place was slated for demolition by the province, and I said ‘what if I come on board and fix things and make it less of a danger to the public,’” he said in an earlier interview.
“It was a nuisance for the government at that time. People were going through it on a daily basis and the vandalism was extensive.”
Journeay, a carpenter, started subleasing the space from the leaseholder, Crystal Mountain Resort, with the approval of the province. His aim was simply to bring skiers and life back to a once loved corner of his community
The hill is just a short drive from West Kelowna.
After a 2014 chairlift accident when it was Crystal Mountain, the 30-run resort was abandoned and it fell into ruin in the years that followed.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2020