whistler blackcomb gondola tower collapse

[davidhowland14]

hm...we're bankrupt. Let's break our gondola!

And I think I'd call chairs lying off the rope on the ground "a little low"....that's crazy. why didn't we hear about this last winter?

 

[bvibert]

It appears that the water/ice speculation was accurate. Here is what I have read from a Whistler/Blackcomb lift mech:

Thanks for the update. Crazy to think that the tower might be able to be reused.

 

[bvibert]

Here's a pic from last year of an area in Washington State(the name slips me right now) of a similar ice/water catastrophic tower event



If I remember the story correctly, this was a transfer lift and the failure was discovered by a cat operator during the night when he noticed that the chairs were hanging a bit low while grooming a section of trail not far from where the tower failure occurred

That was the first picture that came to mind when I read about a possible ice problem.

And I think I'd call chairs lying off the rope on the ground "a little low"....that's crazy. why didn't we hear about this last winter?

We did:
http://forums.alpinezone.com/13096-area-had-bad-day.html

 

[tjf67]

It appears that the water/ice speculation was accurate. Here is what I have read from a Whistler/Blackcomb lift mech:

Holy cow. I was on that thing a couple of time. You can bet I will be looking at Whtefaces Ghondi this weekend to see if was put together with bolts.
BBM if it was state certified does that mean that the towers were check to make sure the remedy was taken care of? I dont want any bolts popping off while I am on the thing.

 

[drjeff]

hm...we're bankrupt. Let's break our gondola!

And I think I'd call chairs lying off the rope on the ground "a little low"....that's crazy. why didn't we hear about this last winter?

I think the reason why we didn't hear a bit more about it, is #1, it was in Washington State at a smaller ski area(if memory serves correctly) and #2 it was on a non operating(at the time) transfer lift as opposed to a "major" lift.

Let me use Sunday River as an example for this. Now if they had something like this happen to their lift 13 (the Jordan Mountain Double transfer lift), interesting for a day or two, yup, major story, nope. Now if it happen to the Jordan Bowl Express, now that's a MAJOR story. In this case, Whistler/Blackcomb gets EXTRA press especially since the Olympics are 14 months away.

 

[drjeff]

That was the first picture that came to mind when I read about a possible ice problem.



We did:
http://forums.alpinezone.com/13096-area-had-bad-day.html

Thanks for digging that thread up B, I new I had started it, just didn;t have time to dig back and find it!

 

[BushMogulMaster]

An official update from Whistler:

Several factors converged to cause the tower failure. The structure of the tower is such that two
parts are spliced together. Water had seeped into the tower which had turned to ice with the
recent extreme cold temperatures. The ice build-up caused the tower splice to rupture, an
extremely unusual situation referred to as "ice-jacking."

 

[deadheadskier]

An official update from Whistler:

Is there a protocol for lift inspection to look for this type of thing?

 

[drjeff]

Is there a protocol for lift inspection to look for this type of thing?

From some of the lift tech stuff I've been reading the last day or so, it really doesn't appear that there is, just simply because 99.999% of the towers are SEALED items, and water leakage isn't as issue. The "closest" thing to an inspection test I came across (and I'm not making the name up here) is the bong test. Basically, if you whack a lift tower with a mallet, if it's hollow it will make an echoing "bong" sound. If its filled with water it will have a dull "thud" sound.

 

[bvibert]

The "closest" thing to an inspection test I came across (and I'm not making the name up here) is the bong test. Basically, if you whack a lift tower with a mallet, if it's hollow it will make an echoing "bong" sound. If its filled with water it will have a dull "thud" sound.

I can't imagine any other easy and effective method than that.

 

[Edd]

I've been on that lift myself. F*** me...

 

[deadheadskier]

From some of the lift tech stuff I've been reading the last day or so, it really doesn't appear that there is, just simply because 99.999% of the towers are SEALED items, and water leakage isn't as issue. The "closest" thing to an inspection test I came across (and I'm not making the name up here) is the bong test. Basically, if you whack a lift tower with a mallet, if it's hollow it will make an echoing "bong" sound. If its filled with water it will have a dull "thud" sound.

maybe the lift inspector guy was conducting a different kind of bong test that day :lol:

It's interesting how different states regulate lifts. Some states classify them as amusement rides and inspect them as such.

 

[Telemechanic]

Yep, it's a Doppelmayr-CTEC construction. One of the last. The CTEC name is no longer associated with Doppelmayr. They've gone back to Doppelmayr-Garaventa.

Of course... who knows when the North American branch will finally the CTEC from the logo.

What is your source for this statement?

 

[BushMogulMaster]

What is your source for this statement?

Let me step back a moment and point out that it may have never happened, but there was definitely talk of completely doing away with the CTEC name due to some sort of blowup with the remaining CTEC folks. The parent company is absolutely the Doppelmayr Garaventa Group. but the North American branch may have opted to work out their issues with the CTEC people. Garaventa CTEC was the company that actually merged with Doppelmayr in North America when Doppelmayr acquired St Jerome and Salt Lake.

 

[SIKSKIER]

The "closest" thing to an inspection test I came across (and I'm not making the name up here) is the bong test. Basically, if you whack a lift tower with a mallet, if it's hollow it will make an echoing "bong" sound. If its filled with water it will have a dull "thud" sound.

I actually perform the "bong" test on almost every lift ride,I just didn't know I was performing a service.When I go by some towers,I give a hard poke with my ski pole and get a very nice sounding "bongggg"! I think I'll be doing this more often now.

 

[campgottagopee]

I actually perform the "bong" test on almost every lift ride

SA-WEET, I need to hang w/ you pal!!!!

 

[drjeff]

I actually perform the "bong" test on almost every lift ride,I just didn't know I was performing a service.When I go by some towers,I give a hard poke with my ski pole and get a very nice sounding "bongggg"! I think I'll be doing this more often now.

To be semi serious for a moment, I guess for the full effectiveness you need to test the tower down by the base. You now if you've got a 40 foot tower and only the bottom 5 feet resemble a freeze pop, I'd bet that you'd still get a decent "BBBOOONNNGGG" when you whack it 30 feet above the top of the freeze pop

 

[tjf67]

I actually perform the "bong" test on almost every lift ride,I just didn't know I was performing a service.When I go by some towers,I give a hard poke with my ski pole and get a very nice sounding "bongggg"! I think I'll be doing this more often now.

I dont think the bong test would have detected the malfunction this lift experiences. Some condensation got in between a joint.

Can you imagine if that ghondi above the creek dropped another ten feet. They would have been in the creek with no way out.

 

[SIKSKIER]

For sure on the Whistler tower.

 

[RootDKJ]

I dont think the bong test would have detected the malfunction this lift experiences. Some condensation got in between a joint.

Perhaps they should be doing less bong tests and more old school joint tests!