Ever been stranded on a charilift?

[skiNEwhere]

I have twice, both in the early 2000's.

At Loon, the Kangamangus quad (probably spelled wrong, I know) came to a dead stop right in the middle of snowmaking equipment and near 0 temps. Didn't move for 30 minutes until they resumed the lift, at low speed. I got a 5 dollar coupon off of food at the cafeteria, which was good for buying a muffin and a water lol

At Wildcat, I was riding the lynx lift all day, and about the 5th or 6th time I was on it it stopped. I was on the lift for over an hour before ski patrol came by and told everyone that they were going to have to be exacuated by rope. 2 hours later they finally reached me with a rescue rope, it was pretty much a rope with a "T" at the bottom to sit on, this was throw over the cable, and they lowered me down. When I skied down to the bottom of the lift, I saw why it stopped, the cable fell off of the sheaves on the first tower. Worth every second I was stuck on the lift though, me and my family got a week free of skiing

 

[millerm277]

Yep. Was on the Superstar Quad at Killington, near the top. Lift died. Waited 10min and jumped, as the lift runs low enough to the ground at the spot I was over to be less than a 3ft drop.

 

[Boston Bulldog]

Duckling Double at Sunapee. The old lift broke down for an hour

 

[Nick]

I had to get roped down at mount snow ..... probably 1996??

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[thetrailboss]

December 25, 2006 at Burke Mountain. Was on it for an hour before they roped me down. The woman in front of me was hysterical. That was on the Willoughby Quad. Hiked down the barren trail because there was no snow. Got a free day ticket.

Before that I got stranded once on the Sherburne Double in like 1991 or so for an hour. Got a free hot chocolate.

And last season snowmonster and I were doing our last run on Baldy Express on the backside of Snowbird when it stopped for like 15 minutes. We thought we were going to be stuck there overnight. We got a hold of dispatch and they confirmed that they had a malfunction and would get it going. I'm here today, so that confirms what happened....

 

[skiersleft]

Timberline at Mount Hood. I believe it was the magic mile chair. Above tree line and ridiculously cold. Close to 45 minutes.

 

[snowmonster]

And last season snowmonster and I were doing our last run on Baldy Express on the backside of Snowbird when it stopped for like 15 minutes. We thought we were going to be stuck there overnight. We got a hold of dispatch and they confirmed that they had a malfunction and would get it going. I'm here today, so that confirms what happened....

I actually though they shut down for the day because I wasn't sure if the liftie waved us through or we snuck on the chair behind his back. We kept yelling, hoping that there was somebody on the top lift shack who could see us. I remember several frantic calls to Snowbird ski patrol. Thank God for cel phones.

 

[darent]

bretton woods, west mountain lift, they shut it down and forgot I was on it. ski patrol came by 30 minutes later and ask me how I got on the lift, told them I was loaded on by a liftie. no freebies or hot chocolate, just a sorry!!

 

[KevinF]

I was at Loon back in January of 2000 when the North Peak Triple broke down. It was about 15 below Fahrenheit and we were stuck for a good 40 minutes. They finally got it going again on its backup power, so it was a slow slow ride to the top. Worst part was that the person I was stuck on the lift with was bitching non-stop about how cold she was. I remember getting a hot-chocolate coupon. Thanks... We were way too high to jump.

I was at Sugarloaf when the King Pine chairlift derailed (apparently the cable popped off the pulleys and was resting on the tower arms. I was nowhere near the derailment though). That took them 30, 40 minutes to fix. We were pretty low and were seriously contemplating jumping. At least it was a warm day.

I was at Killington in December one time when the lift ground to a halt for ~30 minutes. I think it was the Snowdon chair? Whatever the chair is that has "Chute" trail running right under it. We were stuck maybe 100 feet from the unloading point. It was pretty cold. When they finally got it started again, I got off and just high-tailed it down Chute trail. I almost hit a moose that had come wandering out of the woods.

Those are the three stoppages that I really remember.

 

[steamboat1]

I've received quite a few hot chocolate vouchers over the years.

To bad I prefer beer.

 

[St. Jerry]

Have been stuck overnight two different times. Once was at West Mountain, NY back in the early eighties. Got a nice settlement out of that one. Second time was a few years ago at Snowbasin, UT. Hopped on what I thought was last chair but apparently the liftie was not paying attention and last chair had gone already. What was most scary was the wolves that began to circle below the chair in the middle of the night. But I'm still here.

 

[St. Bear]

Have been stuck overnight two different times. Once was at West Mountain, NY back in the early eighties. Got a nice settlement out of that one. Second time was a few years ago at Snowbasin, UT. Hopped on what I thought was last chair but apparently the liftie was not paying attention and last chair had gone already. What was most scary was the wolves that began to circle below the chair in the middle of the night. But I'm still here.

You and your friends are terrible at survival instincts. First off, your hobbit friend could've used his pole to slide down to the nearest tower, instead of dangling by hand. Second, what the hell was your other friend thinking jumping with his skis still attached? Lastly, not a single one of you ever put your hoods on, not even at night during the snowstorm.

 

[skiNEwhere]

You and your friends are terrible at survival instincts. First off, your hobbit friend could've used his pole to slide down to the nearest tower, instead of dangling by hand. Second, what the hell was your other friend thinking jumping with his skis still attached? Lastly, not a single one of you ever put your hoods on, not even at night during the snowstorm.

Are you referring to "Frozen"?

 

[St. Bear]

Are you referring to "Frozen"?

I am, and I thought he was too referencing the wolves.

 

[Cornhead]

Chair four, Greek Peak, about fourteen years ago, no hot chocolate, no wolves. It wasn't too cold, and was actually kind of fun. It did take quite a while, we were in the middle of the lift. I weighed about 280 lbs at the time, I was apologizing to the rescue workers, they just laughed, they wrap the mountaineering rope around itself, the more weight that pulls on it, the tighter it constricts on itself. I was more worried about the aluminum T-bar snapping in half and going up my butt. Whenever a chair stops for longer than usual, I turn to the chair behind me, "So, have you ever been rescued from a chairlift before?" No one has said "yes" yet.

 

[bvibert]

You and your friends are terrible at survival instincts. First off, your hobbit friend could've used his pole to slide down to the nearest tower, instead of dangling by hand. Second, what the hell was your other friend thinking jumping with his skis still attached? Lastly, not a single one of you ever put your hoods on, not even at night during the snowstorm.

I don't know if using a pole would be a very good idea. The typical aluminum pole bends and snaps pretty easily. If it didn't break from the weight initially it probably would have weakened significantly from sliding down the steel haul rope. If I was going to go that route I probably would have used a ski instead of a pole.

 

[Puck it]

Yes, once. Here is the story.

I was with childhood friends Dan Walker and Joe Lynch, along with Dan's girlfriend Parker. we spent a Sunday afternoon at a New England ski resort(not to be named). Not wanting to pay full price for three ski lift tickets, Dan convinces Parker to bribe the liftie, Jason, to let us all on the ski lift. On the way up, the ski lift shuts down, but starts back up again shortly. After spending all afternoon watching Parker fall over herself because she cannot snowboard, we were eager to take one last run down the mountain before we went home. However, it is getting close to dusk, and the ski resort decides to close early because a storm is moving in.

We remind Jason of the bribe and convince him to let them on the ski lift one last time. At this point, the resort is almost deserted. Before we get all the way to the top, Jason is called into the boss's office and is replaced by another liftie). As Jason leaves, he tells the other liftie that there are only three skiers left and then the ski lift can be shut down. Another set of three skiers comes down the mountain. When he sees them he shuts down the ski lift, stranding us on the lift far above the ground.

We were f'ing PO'ed; we thought that there's another technical difficulty with the ski lift. A few minutes later, however, the lights go out, scaring us. Night has come and a snow storm moves in. After a while, a snowcat comes along and it seems as if the driveris about to see us. However, at the last second, the driver is called back to base. After several hours, we realize that no one is coming to get us and that they could be stuck up there all week, as the resort is closed on weekdays. Parker then loses her right glove while smoking. Dan realizes he has no choice but to jump from the ski lift chair and get help, as we will not survive up there in the bitter cold until Friday.

Dan jumps off the lift onto a hard section of the ski run and suffers a compound fracture in both of his legs. Later on, he is approached by a wolf who growls at him, but Parker throws her snowboard at it and it runs away. Joe, now fearing for Dan's safety, decides to climb up and traverse the ski lift cable so that he can get to a chair that is closer to the ground. However, after traversing a few feet, he returns to his chair, his hands cut, and holds Parker, preventing her from watching the scene below. Dan has now been surrounded by a pack of wolves who devour him, horrifying Parker and Joe.

In the morning, Parker and I wake up with Parker's right hand stuck to the ski lift safety bar which she has grabbed in her sleep. She painfully pulls it free, losing skin in the process. In addition, she has developed a bad case of frostbite on her face. After a few hours, Joe climbs up, traverses the ski lift cable, severely cutting his hands in the process, and this time safely climbs down the ladder of a support pole two chairs back. At the same time, Parker's ski lift chair begins tipping as it has started to loosen from its supporting cable. After fighting off a pair of wolves using a ski pole, Joe slides down the mountain on Parker's snowboard as the wolves chase after him.

Another night passes and no one has shown up to help Parker and I. We now realize that something has happened to Joe and, the next day, we begin to attempt a jump down, but the bolt holding the lift chair fails and the chair drops some twenty feet but is caught by a supporting cable. Parker and I jump down, now from a fairly safe height, but she is injured after the lift chair falls on her ankle. Parker then alternately slides and crawls down the mountain, pausing when she sees a streak of blood in the snow and is then approached by a wolf. After sizing her up, the wolf returns to the nearby pack, who are apparently finishing off Joe's remains. Completely traumatized, Parker and I make it the rest of the way down the mountain to a nearby road. Eventually, a car appears and a man comes to her rescue. While on the road, the man calls the hospital and tells them that he had found hurt girl and myself outside of the ski resort.

Unbelievable!!!!!

 

[Nick]

hahahaha. that took some effort to put together!

 

[skiNEwhere]

How did the four of you fit on a triple?

 

[skiNEwhere]

I don't know if using a pole would be a very good idea. The typical aluminum pole bends and snaps pretty easily. If it didn't break from the weight initially it probably would have weakened significantly from sliding down the steel haul rope. If I was going to go that route I probably would have used a ski instead of a pole.

If I was stuck on a lift that and knew I wasn't going to be rescued for days, I think I'd use my Marine training and grab the haul rope with my hands, and swing my legs up hill and wrap them around the rope, and shimmy my way to the next tower. Seems like a better option than using your pole, which might break, or ski, which would be hard to wrap your hands around

Anyone else notice that in Frozen, the list was a fixed grip triple, but had a detachable quad like base terminal? Never seen that.....