132 Stranded In Lift Mishap

[gostan]

http://m.wcvb.com/news/132-stranded-in-Vermont-ski-lift-mishap/-/17428308/19656094/-/dc7p86z/-/index.html

http://youtu.be/DBFZXK52A4A


I was a bit surprised to see this being reported on Channel 5 in Boston last evening and this morning. Must be a slow news day.

Definitely a really professional response to get all down safely. But not really the type of publicity that SB or ski resort industry prefer or desire.

[ducky]

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20130407/NEWS07/304070031/Sugarbush-ski-lift-mishap-strands-132-people

Any publicity is good publicity. That moose sure drew some visitors. Sounds like it was dealt with well.

[gostan]

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20130407/NEWS07/304070031/Sugarbush-ski-lift-mishap-strands-132-people

Any publicity is good publicity. Not according to the three folks who I have been working on for some time to try or come back skiing who texted or face booked me last evening. But, I do completely agree that it was handled well. But, then again, I was not up in one of those not moving chairs.

[HowieT2]

http://youtu.be/DBFZXK52A4A

[win]

The news is always going to pick up on something like this. I have to give the lift operator at the top of Heaven's Gate and our lift mechanics great kudos. The operator spotted a flange that appeared out of line and called the mechanic immediately who cliimbed the tower. They were thinking of running the chair slowly to clear it and do the repair, but then noticed the flange separating more and iimmediately called for a stop and an evacuation. They also err on the side of safety. I was helping the team between towers one and two and watched a three year old boy get evacuated. Both our patrollers and the boy's twelve year old brother did a great job getting him into the seat and safely down.th He gave me a five five when we was on the ground and after some food in the lodge wanted to go back up and ski again.

Before the last person was off the lift the problem was fixed and Heaven's Gate was ready to go.

Evacuations do not happen often, but the odds are if you ski enough you might experience one somewhere. Patrollers practice and are very well prepared. Just hope it is a warm and sunny day.

[jwt]

http://youtu.be/DBFZXK52A4A


Wife and 10 yr old daughter on lift for a little over 2 hours - with a 10 yr old friend they were last off! Skied HG Sunday again. evac teams did a great job.

[pinnoke]

and the skiing yesterday, when the bluebird skies made their unexpected and prolonged appearance for most of the afternoon, was a spectacular reward for everyone venturing up HG. Even Organgrinder was inviting and wonderful. My legs are tired today (though forecast calls for re-emergence of sunshine for the afternoon...hmmmmmm).

[HowieT2]

The news is always going to pick up on something like this. I have to give the lift operator at the top of Heaven's Gate and our lift mechanics great kudos. The operator spotted a flange that appeared out of line and called the mechanic immediately who cliimbed the tower. They were thinking of running the chair slowly to clear it and do the repair, but then noticed the flange separating more and iimmediately called for a stop and an evacuation. They also err on the side of safety. I was helping the team between towers one and two and watched a three year old boy get evacuated. Both our patrollers and the boy's twelve year old brother did a great job getting him into the seat and safely down.th He gave me a five five when we was on the ground and after some food in the lodge wanted to go back up and ski again.

Before the last person was off the lift the problem was fixed and Heaven's Gate was ready to go.



Evacuations do not happen often, but the odds are if you ski enough you might experience one somewhere. Patrollers practice and are very well prepared. Just hope it is a warm and sunny day.

I'm a little surprised there isnt some kind of technological fix so lift evacs can be done a little faster. perhaps one of those scissor man lifts mounted on a snocat.

[ThinkSno]

I have to give the lift operator at the top of Heaven's Gate and our lift mechanics great kudos.

Ski patrol should also get a box of kudos.

[Hawk]

That goes without saying.

[win]

Yes. Our patrolllers are real pros.

[SkiVideoGuy]

Scissor lift on a cat is interesting. Let's explore rescue tech a minute. Seems like the cat would have to be able to deploy the scissor lift on an incline and correct for the incline. Could also use a standard bucket lift type attachment on a cat. My guess is that with the slope and the weight up high, you would have to stabilize the cat with outriggers to account for wind load and weight of rescuer and evacuee or perhaps 3 people at a time up top. I would think a bucket type arrangement would be more flexible. Next question goes to what's the height of the average lift and how high would the cat have to be able to deploy the bucket to safely evac someone on a chair? What's the mounting height of the cat? 8' ?

Next, you have to call the cat from wherever it sleeps to the lift in question. Do you normally close the run under a distressed lift while doing an evac etc? How do you bring a cat up an open trail. Not insurmountable or anything but something to think about.

Next, would this cat be able to assume regular duty doing grooming on normal days or is it a dedicated vehicle? Does a vehicle already basically exist that is used for some sort of lift tower/cable maintenance?

Why do lifts typically stop? If it's wind? would the vehicle be able to operate under the type of windy conditions that might stop a lift and necessitate a rescue?

Glad everyone was brought down safely and smoothly and the lift brought back into service so quickly. Also very glad staff saw the problem in the first place before it developed into something more serious. Great work all!

[SkiVideoGuy]

Sorry, continuing on that.... lets say vehicle pulls 4 people off a chair. The cat would then have to quickly move to the next chair, stabilize itself and send up the bucket. Would doing that be faster than whatever the current rescue method is? Would it be so much faster that it would justify it's cost if it ended up being a dedicated vehicle? Maybe double duty for something like the Lincoln Limo?

[HowieT2]

grooming stein's tonight. That's interesting. I didnt think the moguls set up that well so maybe they are starting over.

[gostan]

Scissor lift on a cat is interesting. Let's explore rescue tech a minute. Seems like the cat would have to be able to deploy the scissor lift on an incline and correct for the incline. Could also use a standard bucket lift type attachment on a cat. My guess is that with the slope and the weight up high, you would have to stabilize the cat with outriggers to account for wind load and weight of rescuer and evacuee or perhaps 3 people at a time up top. I would think a bucket type arrangement would be more flexible. Next question goes to what's the height of the average lift and how high would the cat have to be able to deploy the bucket to safely evac someone on a chair? What's the mounting height of the cat? 8' ?

Next, you have to call the cat from wherever it sleeps to the lift in question. Do you normally close the run under a distressed lift while doing an evac etc? How do you bring a cat up an open trail. Not insurmountable or anything but something to think about.

Next, would this cat be able to assume regular duty doing grooming on normal days or is it a dedicated vehicle? Does a vehicle already basically exist that is used for some sort of lift tower/cable maintenance?

Why do lifts typically stop? If it's wind? would the vehicle be able to operate under the type of windy conditions that might stop a lift and necessitate a rescue?

Glad everyone was brought down safely and smoothly and the lift brought back into service so quickly. Also very glad staff saw the problem in the first place before it developed into something more serious. Great work all!Technology is wonderful, but quite often, & definitely in this lift evacuation situation, true & tried, manual & simple works best.

[SkiVideoGuy]

What is the normal way to get somebody off a chair? Haven't seen it so I don't know how it's currently done.

[gostan]

What is the normal way to get somebody off a chair? Haven't seen it so I don't know how it's currently done.here is one method.

[HowieT2]

What is the normal way to get somebody off a chair? Haven't seen it so I don't know how it's currently done.

see the video above.

[ThinkSno]

What is the normal way to get somebody off a chair? Haven't seen it so I don't know how it's currently done.

One method: Patrol throws/shoots a line over the ski lift cable uphill of chair. Line then used to pull rope over cable. Metal U-shaped hook on rope then straddles cable (to prevent rope from fraying & allows rope to slide more easily). Seat attached to other end of rope is raised to ski chair. Stranded riders get onto seat, puts safety rope over head & shoulders. Patrollers then manually lower person onto hill. Once chair is empty, rope gets flung over chair & moved downhill to next chair & process repeats.