Ever see a lift rollback

[rossibandit]

Today in Liftee training, we watched a destructive test video of this fix grip lift in CO in the 1990's. The lift maintence guys and engineers just wreck the shit out of this old lift. First they put concrete blocks in the carriers on the lift and let the rope way roll back. Thats scary shit. The carriers accelerated backward so quick. As they reached the bullwheel, the they shot the the concrete blocks of the carrier like a sling shot, clearing over a 125 feet. In one point in the video you can see the engineers running for cover.

They also dropped trees on the lift line, and started a fire in the motor house of the lift. Within 4 minutes the lift stoped and and within 14 the haul rope failed.

Moral of the story, if a ski lift rolls back, jump before you hit the loading station unless you want to become a human sling shot

[Telenater]

For a descripton of similar lift sketchyness read Lorenzo's article in the November issue of Telemark Skiier.

He was on the fixed grip that had problems in SA this summer.

[cab9]

Hi speed quads have emergency brakes, in case the diveshaft snaps. It happened at Blackcomb about 5 years ago, and the chair rolled back about 20 feet, super fast, just enough time for you to think about jumping. I guess the couple of chairs that had just loaded hit each other, but that was it.
I think the friendly folks at Whistler/Blackcomb gave out free hot chocolate for everyone on the chair

[JR]

The old Granite lift at Red Mountain used to roll back if it was loaded heavy. It was pretty exciting if you were over the bowl when it happened. When it finally stopped the up and downside chairs would pass each other as they bounced up and down. You had to hold on pretty good to keep from getting catapulted. They don't make lifts like that any more.

[Idris]

Hi speed quads have emergency brakes, in case the diveshaft snaps. It happened at Blackcomb about 5 years ago, and the chair rolled back about 20 feet, super fast, just enough time for you to think about jumping. I guess the couple of chairs that had just loaded hit each other, but that was it.
I think the friendly folks at Whistler/Blackcomb gave out free hot chocolate for everyone on the chair

Ithink you will find it was more like 8 or 9 years ago, it was the old creekside chair I think.....It was from a time when Whistler mountain was independent of Blackcomb and Intrawest...if memory serves it was a lift made in Carson city NV!

As for high speed quads having e brakes, I thinl you will find all chairs have E brakes on the bull wheel...

[crashnburn'd]

I was on a lift in Upper Michigan that quit and everytime they'd try to restart it, it would go forward, quit and then roll back... Interesting feeling considering it was an old double with a bar in the center and not enough counter-weight.

[fez]

Ever skied Bousquet?

I grew up there and was once on a chair that rolled back probably 15-20 ft. That was scary, but the crazy one was riding the chair up when i was a little kid with my friend sean, night skiing. our friends chris and greg were in the chair ahead of us, we were all probably 8-9 yrs old. there was one 'steep' spot on the ride and when we got to it chris and greg's chair slid back on the rope. slammed into sean and my chair, we had swung our legs to the side or they probably would have been messed up. we rode that way the rest of the way to the top.

i think i was evac'd off that chair 3 times in my life.

[cab9]

Ithink you will find it was more like 8 or 9 years ago, it was the old creekside chair I think.....It was from a time when Whistler mountain was independent of Blackcomb and Intrawest...if memory serves it was a lift made in Carson city NV!

As for high speed quads having e brakes, I thinl you will find all chairs have E brakes on the bull wheel...

That was the Quicksilver chair, and I think some people even died in that situation. The Wizard chair on Blackcomb lost its driveshaft about 5 years ago, no big deal, just a roll back.

[Blizzard7763]

I was on a lift in Upper Michigan that quit and everytime they'd try to restart it, it would go forward, quit and then roll back... Interesting feeling considering it was an old double with a bar in the center and not enough counter-weight.

Just out of curiosity, where in Michigan? If you'd rather not incriminate the resort, just give me a nearby town. Even Lat/Long will work. Or I could live with not knowing.

That used to happen at Sugarloaf (Michigan) every once in a while. It happened regularly enough that the locals almost didn't notice it. Good thing that resort went out of business a few years ago.

Fuck that. The year that resort went out of business was the year I stopped skiing damn near every day of the season. Fuck reality...Utah, here I come.

[crashnburn'd]

Just out of curiosity, where in Michigan? If you'd rather not incriminate the resort, just give me a nearby town. Even Lat/Long will work. Or I could live with not knowing.

That used to happen at Sugarloaf (Michigan) every once in a while. It happened regularly enough that the locals almost didn't notice it. Good thing that resort went out of business a few years ago.

Fuck that. The year that resort went out of business was the year I stopped skiing damn near every day of the season. Fuck reality...Utah, here I come.

Brule... One look at some of the lifts will tell you why it happened.

[Plakespear]

I think the friendly folks at Whistler/Blackcomb gave out free hot chocolate for everyone on the chair

The way Intrawest operates they probably charged everyone a quarter for the styrofoam cups.

[basom]

rollback


Now tell me who's your housekeeper and what you keep in your house?
What about diamonds and gold, is that what you keep in your mouth?

[This End Up]

rollback


Now tell me who's your housekeeper and what you keep in your house?
What about diamonds and gold, is that what you keep in your mouth?

I'm ambidextrous. I slap ass with both hands

[basom]

They can't breathe, dick to mouth recessatation
A tight squeeze witch stops the length to conversations

[snorkeldeep]

joey, have you ever seen a grown man naked?

do you like movies about gladiators?

have you ever been in a turkish prison?

[EPSkis]

recessatation

Fun resuscitation.

[Mustonen]

the old double on the backside of bohemia dropped a chair a few years ago. i don't remember exactly how it happened...but something to do with it being old and bohemia being cheap.

anywho...the new mtn manager gave both lifts a very comprehensive rebuild a year or two ago, as a condition of accepting the job. so we should be all good to go -- bring your kids!

[edg]

This summer was in the Flégère (sp.) 'tram' which was rolled from just over half way all the way back to the loading station, because it was too full (That was kinda ironic, as the liftie was telling everyone to squeeze in and was trying to push more people onto the gondola.) I've also been in the Flégère lift when it's stopped and then restarted... With that and the Aiguille du Midi collapsing all over the place, think I might just walk...

edg

[powderpow]

Everyone has seen that video who has ever worked for a ski resort company. I love when all the people that are watching start running away. Did you see when the cinder blocks on the chairs get launched? That video is awesome!

I have been on a lift that rolled back but it was only like a few feet. It was at Wolf Mountain (now The Canyons). A buddy and I were out there early morning, one of the first chairs of the day and the chair stopped like half way up and rolled back a few feet. After waiting for ten minutes we decided to jump off and it was a good thing we did because they later evacuated it.

[summit]

As for high speed quads having e brakes, I thinl you will find all chairs have E brakes on the bull wheel...

Doesn't help if the bull wheel goes.

Keystone: ~ 1989 (I think).

Teller Lift's (attatched triple) top bull wheel pops off flies back and slams into the main post. The sudden slack causes major whiplash throwing many people from their chairs. There were several broken bones, but only one death (later in the hospital from cardiac problems).

The lift was renamed Ruby (now replaced with a detachable six, Ruby Express).

[Crank]

Wow sounds like Blackcomb has had some problems in the past with roll backs. I was on the Quad from the base about 5-6 years ago that rolled back a good 10 ft.. Scary stuff!! I could used a Depends that day!! Even with the safty bar down we just about lost a kid on the chair. Good thing his parents where in the right state of mind to grab him as he was going off the chair. After that day I will no longer ride a chair without the saftey bar down.

[DaveTV]

Big Squaw, Maine had a chair backslide last spring

[powderpyg]

The old Granite lift at Red Mountain used to roll back if it was loaded heavy. It was pretty exciting if you were over the bowl when it happened. When it finally stopped the up and downside chairs would pass each other as they bounced up and down. You had to hold on pretty good to keep from getting catapulted. They don't make lifts like that any more.

Thank fucking christ they don't! That chair was friggin piece o work, from the chairs cutting your circulation off above the knees (try standing up after the 20 minute ride!); to the slam, slam, knees in the face on loading; to the teeth chattering at the tower the cable went under the shivs; to exactly what you just said. I was about twelve when that first happened to me right at the highest point...my ass was at least two feet off the chair and I was gripped to the center post, I wouldn't ride that chair for a least two years after that and I had to go clean my shorts out.

Junior were you around when they had that single chair on Red and the poma lift between Red and the t-bar...those were beauts too!

[JR]

The first year I skied there they still had the old single, but it was gone the next year. Pretty cool with the old tripod telephone pole towers. They used to have a stack of 2X4s at the bottom to throw into the bullwheel if the brake failed and it got out of control. What a job that would be, firing 2X4 into the bullwheel. The poma was there for quite a few years when I skied there, probably 10 years or so.

I think there was more than one person that rode that old granite lift and never came back. Between the rolling back, the high span, stopping on the high span and the cable speed trying to take you out as you loaded, it was truly a force to be reckoned with. After you've ridden that thing, everything else seems tame.

[Redskea]

The list of chairlift carnage I have witnessed is long and impressive. The list so far includes:

A chair fall right off the haul rope, luckily just after it had unloaded and gone around the bullwheel. I've seen a saftey bar fall right off the chair (that's the last time I lean on one to unclip my boots!) A t-bar roll backwards, a T-bar hanger fall off the haul rope. Many rope tow roll backs. One of the best was when the gondola at Soldeu came out of the top station with 6 cars all touching and cracking in to each other. That closed the gondola down for a few days and they had to call in a helicopter to carry away the cars one by one..

The most impressive of all happened at a shitty sight-seeing operation for whom I happened to be working for in New Zealand. The company, which ran a gondola and a chairlift, never did any maintenance or staff training. The cable pulling tension from the counter weight snapped while the gondola was loaded to capacity. The bull wheel shot forward and the haul rope bounced which derailed at a couple of the towers. One of the places it derailed was under a compression tower, in the bottom of a gully. When the cable came off, it bounced six metres (about 18 feet) up into the air. The public got rattled around a bit in the cabins but no major injuries.

The evacuation was a shitshow due to the policy that training staff is a waste of time and money. The fire department turned up to evacuate the lower cabins and they rested their ladder on the cabin, not the haul rope, so when the fireman started to climb the cabin swang away, and the ladder dropped! The company later covered up the lack of training by providing false records of training sessions that hadn't occured.

If you want a scary surface lift experience try riding rope tows on club fields in NZ (nut crackers.)