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Chairlift Rescue at Sundance (Raw Video)

drjeff

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Tense stuff!! As a parent, #1 what the heck is a younger kid doing skiing/riding a lift with a back pack on? That's just asking for trouble getting on/off a lift IMHO

#2 - Tough job with the patroller missing with his first couple of throws to get the monkey's fist on the lead rope up and over the haul rope to pull rescue rope into position - great job by the lift ops in thinking outside the box

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thetrailboss

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Tense stuff!! As a parent, #1 what the heck is a younger kid doing skiing/riding a lift with a back pack on? That's just asking for trouble getting on/off a lift IMHO

#2 - Tough job with the patroller missing with his first couple of throws to get the monkey's fist on the lead rope up and over the haul rope to pull rescue rope into position - great job by the lift ops in thinking outside the box

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I thought that ski patrol looked rusty. That said, it sucks to live in a world where everyone has a camera on them and everything is on the web within minutes for folks to watch and critique.


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Zermatt

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On a side note, any guesses on the highest traditional chair lift in the world? Not altitude, but chair to ground.

My guess is the peak chair at Whistler. Has to be over 300' near the top.

Closed trams and gondolas don't apply here.
 
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Peak chair at Whistler scared the crap out of me near the top. Huge open area and drop just before the off ramp. Another hairy one was the old KT-22 at Squaw before they replaced it. Middle pole chair with no safety bar or footrest....yikes!
 

xwhaler

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Peak chair at Whistler scared the crap out of me near the top. Huge open area and drop just before the off ramp. Another hairy one was the old KT-22 at Squaw before they replaced it. Middle pole chair with no safety bar or footrest....yikes!
Agree on the Peak quad at Whistler. They require u take your backpack off for that lift. It was a bit nerve wracking being on that chair when the wind was blowing.

Amazing terrain up there though so worth it!

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Savemeasammy

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Wow. That is tense to watch as a parent. The ladder is a good idea, but as someone who works with ladders a lot, a few things jump out at me. For one, someone should show these guys how to "foot" a ladder in order to stand it up. The other thing is that they could have some sort of hook(s) at the top to grab onto the chair to keep it from pushing away (a ladder hook comes to mind, but there are smaller hooks that cable guys use - I believe - that might work well here and might be more stable). The guys at the bottom did a good job holding it (and you might be surprised how far you can climb a ladder with someone pushing it from the back side), but the higher you get on a ladder, the more force you apply to whatever it is leaning against. They also had the ladder at a VERY steep angle - and that kept more force off of the chair. All-in-all it was a great rescue, but if Solitude (or any other mountain for that matter) uses ladders as part of there rescue strategy, it appears they could use some training.


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SIKSKIER

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What the heck is with the critisizm here?I thought these guys did a fantastic job,especially with a screaming and kicking kid.The maintainance guys were moving so fast and quick thinking with the ladder.Great job guys!
 

wtcobb

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#2 - Tough job with the patroller missing with his first couple of throws to get the monkey's fist on the lead rope up and over the haul rope to pull rescue rope into position - great job by the lift ops in thinking outside the box

During training at Cannon last year with adaptive we practiced a lift evac (with equipment!). Ski patrolled nailed the first two throws perfectly over the line. They all got a good laugh saying "That never happens on the first try."
 

Savemeasammy

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What the heck is with the critisizm here?I thought these guys did a fantastic job,especially with a screaming and kicking kid.The maintainance guys were moving so fast and quick thinking with the ladder.Great job guys!

They did indeed do a good job, but my "criticism" is intended to be constructive. My guess is that you don't understand the dangers of an improperly footed and secured ladder. The rescue was fast and successful, and that's what is most important. However, there was potential for additional injuries to the rescuers here...


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dlague

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I agree, there is no reason for that kid to ski with a pack. I bet he will not in the bear future. It is amazing how many times I have seen people getting that packs hooked getting off the lift.

The other day I saw a dad skiing with four kids at Keystone and they all and packs. Why?

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cdskier

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I thought that ski patrol looked rusty.

I don't know...they did a very good job imo. All the practice in the world doesn't prepare you for a real life scenario where you have a kid screaming and you have real pressure. You can't simulate that in a practice environment.

I was actually just wondering the other day how much practice/training ski patrol does on lift evacs. Patrol at Sugarbush was practicing lift evacs with some of their new trainees earlier this week and that's what got me thinking. They were practicing on the new Valley House Quad (it wasn't running mid-week so probably why it was an excellent choice to use at the time). Patrol can practice the general concept on any lift, but I'm curious whether they practice on every lift at any point. Some lifts are surely much more difficult to evac from (I was thinking Slide Brook in this case in some of the middle sections where you are way up off the ground).
 

thebigo

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Peak chair at Whistler scared the crap out of me near the top. Huge open area and drop just before the off ramp. Another hairy one was the old KT-22 at Squaw before they replaced it. Middle pole chair with no safety bar or footrest....yikes!

Sounds like the old milly chair at Brighton, center pole double, tiny seat, no safety bar. I was a kid but it seemed like the chair was hundreds of feet off the ground in one area. Rode that chair once, only once.
 

fiddleski

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Sounds like the old milly chair at Brighton, center pole double, tiny seat, no safety bar. I was a kid but it seemed like the chair was hundreds of feet off the ground in one area. Rode that chair once, only once.
The old Milly was the scariest I've been on - I hung on to that center pole for dear life. I believe it was a Yan, to boot. If I'd known that then, I probably never would have ridden the thing in the first place. But great skiing off that chair!
 

2Planker

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As a 25+ year Patroller (SR, The Cat, Stratton) we would practice at least twice a year. Especially since the techniques are different for Fixed grip, detatch, gondi's... Also doing an evac that is NOT over a trail is a huge obstacle..
On a mid Dec. Saturday, SR Barker Quad went down at 3:30, and Agony was NOT open for the season yet. Was completely dark in no time.... Took 2+ hours, but we got everyone off and down Agony without being skiable for most folks


I don't know...they did a very good job imo. All the practice in the world doesn't prepare you for a real life scenario where you have a kid screaming and you have real pressure. You can't simulate that in a practice environment.

I was actually just wondering the other day how much practice/training ski patrol does on lift evacs. Patrol at Sugarbush was practicing lift evacs with some of their new trainees earlier this week and that's what got me thinking. They were practicing on the new Valley House Quad (it wasn't running mid-week so probably why it was an excellent choice to use at the time). Patrol can practice the general concept on any lift, but I'm curious whether they practice on every lift at any point. Some lifts are surely much more difficult to evac from (I was thinking Slide Brook in this case in some of the middle sections where you are way up off the ground).
 
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