Sugarloaf Lift Accident - 3/21/15

[Not Sure]

One report said the injuries were at the load station too.

Can imagine people loading and the next group moving up, Stop reverse....and the group scrambling to get out of the way middle 2 people were like targets, side 2 could dive out of the way .

Seems the place not to be aside from the next loading group would be the first few chairs, no time to decide what to do.

 

[St. Jerry]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9zLojBpQ_I

 

[skiNEwhere]

Judging by how wildly the downhill chairs (chairs that SHOULD be going downhill) are swinging, I think the roll back was much faster than that at its apex. You have to remember that people took out their cameras halfway and didn't get the whole thing.

 

[LoafSkier19]

They say it traveled 450 ft backwards in a matter of 30 seconds. For comparison, it's designed to run 450 ft per minute max when normally operating.

 

[deadheadskier]

Awful.

Going to be challenging for Boyne / CNL to move forward from this. Sad day for all affected

 

[thetrailboss]

http://www.saminfo.com/news/seven-injured-lift-rollback-sugarloaf

SAM reports seven hurt.


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

 

[xlr8r]

The fact is that both the Spillway and now King Pine accidents should have been prevented by redundancy systems, but were not. All lifts should have catchers on the sheaves to catch the haul rope in the case of a de-ropement. But spillways haul rope was not caught, and fell to the ground. All lifts also have redundancy brake systems to hold the lift in place during any stop or mechanical issue. But King Pine's brakes did not hold the lift and had a rollback. This is unnaccaptable to happen twice, something must seriously be wrong with Sugarloaf's lift department. These aren't mechanical failures, these are failures of redundancy safety systems in place that are supposed to work when mechanical failures happen.

 

[Not Sure]

They say it traveled 450 ft backwards in a matter of 30 seconds. For comparison, it's designed to run 450 ft per minute max when normally operating.

450' in 30 sec is 15 per second , emergency parachutes have a descent rate of 20' per second .I think injuries would be a lot more severe if there was no braking at all. JMO

 

[deadheadskier]

450' in 30 sec is 15 per second , emergency parachutes have a descent rate of 20' per second .I think injuries would be a lot more severe if there was no braking at all. JMO

And most HSQ travel at a rate of 900-1100 feet per minute I believe. So the lift was basically traveling backwards at the speed a HSQ goes forward. I agree, some braking had to still be going on.

 

[LoafSkier19]

9 chairs went around the bull wheel. They are spaced according to Ethan's press release at 51 feet. So 459 feet. WCSH's report I believe said 20-30 seconds. That's where I got the number. They could be wrong.

 

[billski]

Bangor Daily News

 

[skiNEwhere]

I wonder what will be the fate of the lift. Not only for the rest of the season, but if it will be replaced ASAP like spillway

 

[deadheadskier]

King Pine was the next Loaf lift scheduled to be replaced in their 20 year plan. I thought this up coming summer was the plan.

 

[Jully]

They time their planned replacements pretty perfectly at the end of a lift's life if this summer was the king pine replacement plan.

2 major accidents in 5 years is completely unacceptable.

 

[millerm277]

King Pine was the next Loaf lift scheduled to be replaced in their 20 year plan. I thought this up coming summer was the plan.

If that's correct, I'd expect a lot of suspicion about skimping on maintenance/repairs. It'd have had what, a handful of weeks remaining in it's life? Pretty good incentive for someone to say "it'll be fine until the end of the season" with regards to issues.

 

[steamboat1]

I wonder what will be the fate of the lift. Not only for the rest of the season, but if it will be replaced ASAP like spillway

Killington will buy it as a replacement chair for South Ridge.

 

[thetrailboss]

More local coverage:

http://www.wmtw.com/news/4-injured-in-chairlift-accident-at-sugarloaf/31940752

 

[VTKilarney]

Their insurance rates are going to increase.


.

 

[Whitey]

I hope everyone is OK. That should be my primary concern. But my self-centered ego is wondering if the King Pine lift will be back up next weekend when I am there for 3 days. . .

Any of you chair lift geeks got any feeling for how long this will put this lift OOS? The rest of this season?

 

[deadheadskier]

I'm trying to remember how long Spillway went offline for. It was not a short duration and may have been for the rest of the season.

At this point in the year, I'd shut it down for the season if I was Sugarloaf even if they get it repaired. All that terrain can still be skied off Skyline. If they open the lift back up I think folks will question how safe it is.