Lift Accident Devils Head, WI

[Glenn]

Rolling backwards has got to be scary. A kid I raced with in highschool was on a lift when that happened. I want to say it was Brodie Mountain? This would have been early/mid 1990's.

 

[mikestaple]

I was just contemplating the same thing... Scary thought.

I can't even imagine having to lift the bar and chuck my kids 20 feet down. That ski resort is in a pretty big tourist area (Wisconsin Dells) and does ok (ex-pat Cheesehead here). Lots of traffic on weekends. I'm kinda surprised their lifts are ancient (as a poster above indicated).

 

[SIKSKIER]

We had a rollback at Cannon while I was riding of all lifts,the newest.2 years ago we were on the Peabody detach when it stopped for quite a while.Twice when it attempted to start we went backwards about 50-100 feet.Not scary but a real weird feeling.We were all ready to jump to jump into that famous Cannon powder of hardpack!

 

[Kerovick]

I run a lift and I'm terrified of a rollback. Good thing it's rare.

 

[abc]

"Rare"?

I never thought about it ever happening except one or twice altogether.

Now I'm scared. Seems like it happens a lot more often than I thought! Yeah I can see myself jumpping off a chair at certain spot. But from a chair going at 40mph???

 

[millerm277]

Now I'm scared. Seems like it happens a lot more often than I thought! Yeah I can see myself jumpping off a chair at certain spot. But from a chair going at 40mph???

You watch the a chair like the one you're sitting on go horizontal and literally shatter and destroy itself, and I think you'll be taking your chances too with the fall.

 

[redalienx11]

i think that test was at winter park co.

as a liftie that is one of my worst nightmares- especially something like that that seems so out of control

 

[abc]

You watch the a chair like the one you're sitting on go horizontal and literally shatter and destroy itself, and I think you'll be taking your chances too with the fall.

Time to go pratice perfecting that switch landing!

 

[billski]

I had to jump once. Actually, my daughter slid off and I slipped trying to grab her, and clung on until I lost holding strength, from about 10 feet. I wasn't worried about my injuries, but I was absolutely scared to death I was going to land on her, skis first. I missed her head by inches.

 

[jerryg]

On a couple of the HSQs at Heavenly there are actually signs that say the lift may operate in reverse. I recall being on one and it did roll back about 20 feet and I had not yet seen the signs. I was freaked out by it.

 

[threecy]

To put things in perspective though, ski lifts are still one of the safest forms of transportation out there. One is a heck of a lot more likely to have something happen while driving to the mountain, as compared to riding a lift.

 

[jaywbigred]

This thread is bad for your mental health. We had a couple of longish delays (well, not THAT long, but long enough to produce tears form my 26 y/o gf because she got so cold) this past weekend at Mt. Snow, including a stop-start-stop pattern that repeated at least 4 times, and all I could think of was this thread. I was just waiting for it to start rolling back. Very scary stuff. But I have to assume its like sharks...scary, but unlikely.

 

[bvibert]

...scary, but unlikely.

VERY unlikely.

 

[ERJ-145CA]

Wasn't there also a detachable in Colorado some years ago where some individual chairs slid backwards on the rope and knocked other chairs off?

 

[threecy]

Wasn't there also a detachable in Colorado some years ago where some individual chairs slid backwards on the rope and knocked other chairs off?

I believe you may be confusing a fixed grip bullwheel incident in Colorado with a detachable issue in Western Canada.

 

[Glenn]

This thread is bad for your mental health. We had a couple of longish delays (well, not THAT long, but long enough to produce tears form my 26 y/o gf because she got so cold) this past weekend at Mt. Snow, including a stop-start-stop pattern that repeated at least 4 times, and all I could think of was this thread. I was just waiting for it to start rolling back. Very scary stuff. But I have to assume its like sharks...scary, but unlikely.

Best investmet we made for ski gear....."heated boots". Does my wife still get cold? Sure. But it does make those really cold days a bit easier and allows her more runs before having to go inside.

 

[Rambo]

I believe you may be confusing a fixed grip bullwheel incident in Colorado with a detachable issue in Western Canada.

Seems those 2 incidents were both YAN lifts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lift_Engineering

"Potential problems with Yan lifts began to surface as early as 1985, when the upper bullwheel on the Teller lift at Keystone, Colorado literally fell off its axle. Faulty welding was blamed. Two people were killed and 47 injured."

"Yan detachable lifts were subject to a series of disastrous accidents, the most famous of which was on the Quicksilver lift at Whistler-Blackcomb Resort in British Columbia, Canada. The Quicksilver accident killed two and injured eight.[3]. The accident occurred when the emergency brake was pressed to help a skier who had fallen while unloading. A chair started sliding downhill and struck the next chair which got stuck on a tower."

 

[jaywbigred]

Best investmet we made for ski gear....."heated boots". Does my wife still get cold? Sure. But it does make those really cold days a bit easier and allows her more runs before having to go inside.

Glenn, she's got em. She's skinny to begin with, and she has super narrow feet, so they get cold despite the heater sometimes, esp. towards the end of the day when the charge starts to weaken. Also, I think she was mumbling something about not having them fully charged, which doesn't help. That part is up to her. You can only lead a horse to water...

Given the situation, I decided to keep my thoughts (and the contents of this thread) to myself

 

[bvibert]

Given the situation, I decided to keep my thoughts (and the contents of this thread) to myself

Smart move!

 

[ERJ-145CA]

Seems those 2 incidents were both YAN lifts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lift_Engineering

"Potential problems with Yan lifts began to surface as early as 1985, when the upper bullwheel on the Teller lift at Keystone, Colorado literally fell off its axle. Faulty welding was blamed. Two people were killed and 47 injured."

"Yan detachable lifts were subject to a series of disastrous accidents, the most famous of which was on the Quicksilver lift at Whistler-Blackcomb Resort in British Columbia, Canada. The Quicksilver accident killed two and injured eight.[3]. The accident occurred when the emergency brake was pressed to help a skier who had fallen while unloading. A chair started sliding downhill and struck the next chair which got stuck on a tower."

That was an intersting article, it seems to prove that you get what you pay for.