VIDEO: The effort to bring back Crystal Mountain

Don Journeay, at Bull Mountain Adventure Park says people are always asking if we could see the return of a fully functioning ski hill in West Kelowna.

Now it's time for people to put their money where their mouth is.

Journeay has launched a GoFundMe appeal.

"We've exhausted all of the investors, so it's kind of up to the crowd-funding," said Journeay.

He is seeking $10 million in an effort to revive hopes of bringing back a skiing and boarding destination above the Glenrosa neighbourhood.

Crystal Mountain has not operated since one of its chairlifts failed in 2014.

The accident injured four people and forced the skiing facility to close, seemingly for good.

But Journeay believes it could be brought back.

He envisions a return of functioning lifts along with the airsoft shooting activities that he's been hosting at the facility since the Crystal Mountain days.

"I can see that could kind of be able to sustain the ski hill," he said. "And re-do the lodge and rebuild that."

The old lifts may not have much value, since the ski facilities shut down, they've been the target of vandals.

"The triple chair has been vandalized very extensively," he said. "And the t-bar, not so much, but it's really antiquated."

So a new start for skiers and boarders would probably mean starting from scratch for lift facilities.

In the meantime, the terrain is still enjoyed by die-hard snowboarders who get back to the top on foot.

"It's green energy," Journeay says with a laugh. "Two feet and a heartbeat."

Snowboarder and supporter Evan Chandler-Soanes shares Journeay's dreams of a return to ski lift operations.

"I think it's awesome," he said. "People need a place to go that isn't far away and doesn't cost a lot of money."

Journeay admits the crowd-funding effort is a bit of a 'Hail Mary'.

"You know it is, kind of," he admits.

"We'll see what goes on next year. We're going to push forward and how far we can go again. It's not for lack of trying."

The ski hill first opened in 1967 as Last Mountain Ski Resort.

It was renamed Crystal Mountain after it was sold in 1992.

If the resort is ever re-developed, a master development with the province sets aside access to over 7,000 acres of land for potential development around the ski area.