Ski resort employee seriously injured in accident

A night janitor at Whitefish Mountain Resort was seriously injured the evening of Dec. 9 while working at the Summit House.

According to a resort news release, the 26-year-old Whitefish man suffered a serious leg injury while loading a dumbwaiter.

A second employee called 911 and a Big Mountain Ambulance paramedic was transported to the summit.

The injured employee was transported down the mountain in a grooming cat with the paramedic and was transported by ambulance to Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with him and we will continue to give him our support,” said resort spokeswoman Riley Polumbus. “Secondly, we are taking this accident very seriously and currently investigating the equipment and incident.”

Polumbus said a third-party workplace safety consultant will investigate the accident. The dumbwaiter has been locked up and will remain out of service until the cause of the accident is fully known, she added.

The Summit House is at the summit of Big Mountain and includes a restaurant, gift shop, bar and sitting areas.

Whitefish Mountain Resort opened for the ski season on Saturday, Dec. 6.