Lift woes at Sugarloaf...

[ckofer]

source:

http://fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080114/NEWS0104/462180369



Article Date: Monday, January 14, 2008
CARRABASSET VALLEY, Maine (AP) _ Sugarloaf USA is investigating a pair of incidents with a chair lift, including one that sent a maintenance worker to the hospital.

Spokesman Bill Swain say the electrician had to be airlifted away for medical treatment after being hit on the head while working on the Spillway West lift Saturday.

At about the same time, one of the chairs on the same lift became loose and slammed into another chair. No skiers were hurt in the second incident but the ski patrol did have to evacuate everyone from the lift, the shorter of two on Sugarloaf's Spillway.

Sugarloaf workers believe the two incidents are unrelated but they are continuing to investigate. The lift remains shut down.

 

[billski]

Or just reported more? Kinda hard to hide something like this. I wonder if the lifts are getting a lot more traffic than they are used to.

I am NOT telling my wife about any of this. What goes on at AZ stays at AZ

 

[ckofer]

I wonder if they got caught off-guard with an early season.

 

[drjeff]

Post ASC lack of maintenance woes!

 

[bvibert]

I don't know if there's more lift incidents or not, but that's the second case of a grip failing causing a chair to slide back into the chair behind it this season.

 

[learn2turn]

The Spillway chairs are pretty old now. It's about time they be replaced. Maybe replace both with one quad that runs up the X-cut.

 

[billski]

this group knows too much!

 

[deadheadskier]

The Spillway chairs are pretty old now. It's about time they be replaced. Maybe replace both with one quad that runs up the X-cut.

Agreed and the Double Runner as well why they're at it.

Part of me would rather one long HSQ all the way to the X-cut from the base, but with wind issues, it makes sense to have separate quads. That way on some days that aren't quite so bad, the lower quad can still run and the T-Bar used to access the upper mountain.

 

[loafer89]

I think that the lift system is fine just the way it is, though a mid mountain lift would be most helpful, perhaps from where Gondi mid-station used to be to the summit.

 

[Paul]

I am NOT telling my wife about any of this. What goes on at AZ stays at AZ

THIS!