WOOT WOOT! Nukin' in Missoula

[Rasputin]

This one could be really bad. They're going to be very lucky if they don't get sued. And if they willfully ignored warnings about that lift....

Ridiculous!!! After forty oor so folks bounced their heads off of the first couple Halos, and complained about it like sissies, they hung pink tape off'n them (a more than fair extra warning, even though signs at The Bowl say "Beware of unmarked obstacles"), and eventually got around ta bendin' the halos into un-halo-ey shapes, which would not lead to a swinging chair to slip off'n it the way it supposed to. How's that fer safetieness!!!

[stuckathuntermtn]

Those old double chairs aren't idiot proof.
To sum up my lifty housemate: they want "the pinnacle is when someone dies" on a t-shirt. I told them they should all wear it on closing day.
I have his take but I'm riding the high from Top Gun Maverick. It's on Prime!
Also, Snowpark chair will not be open until Wednesday because even though the FS guy checked it out, the supervisor's supervisor's supervisor who approves the TPS report isn't in on the weekend.
Anyone else wanna go to somewhere for Monday afternoon? I'd leave earlier but I have a dentist appointment.

[Rasputin]

Oh, BTW, all that fun controversy and casting aspersions made me forget to mention, lots of snow, buried sun-crust, very few skiers yestidddy.

[RootSkier]

As the dad of two small kids, the Snowpark thing is pretty damn grim.

I would like to once again point out, as I do every time that graph gets posted, that Snowbowl has zero fucking idea how many people ski there on a daily basis. Is someone really counting the the number of highlighted pass numbers on the board? Hell no, and most of the time nobody checks my pass anyways.

But I don't know what the endgame is. I am not sure how many more skiers the Bowl can realistically handle when parking is already the limiting factor, at least on Saturdays and pow days. Also, not sure how "affordable" Missoula is anymore, when you basically need a million dollars to buy a non-shithole.

[Norseman]

^ dude #4 looks nasty

[yeahman]

^ dude #4 looks nasty

+1, for real. Cool pic. But #1, I thought they got that snowcat thing off Point 6? Or is that something else?

Got to ski Transporter today and I'm officially drinking the Kool-Aid. That is some fun shit.

[stuckathuntermtn]

Long story short, douchebag couldn't just sit down and let the lifties boost his kid. He kept trying to "help," then freaked out when his inability to load the lift properly broke it. Snowpark lift should be open when the higher ups at the FS approve the safety inspection by the normal guy who checked on the chair replacement. Which should be Wednesday since they are closed Monday and Tuesday
I pounded a bunch of beer last night for some reason. Wasn't a great move.

[FreakofSnow]

Long story short, douchebag couldn't just sit down and let the lifties boost his kid. He kept trying to "help," then freaked out when his inability to load the lift properly broke it. Snowpark lift should be open when the higher ups at the FS approve the safety inspection by the normal guy who checked on the chair replacement. Which should be Wednesday since they are closed Monday and Tuesday
I pounded a bunch of beer last night for some reason. Wasn't a great move.

Care to expand more on that one, big guy? Sounds like you you're suggesting that it was "improper" loading technique that broke the chair ?

I also heard that similar excuse of, someone "unloading improperly" on Lavelle which broke the chair.

I ain't buying either reasons. Sounds like your liftie roomy has been drinking the coolaid

[S_jenks]

I think the real key here is a deep-divide investigation into this ‘McLeod’ guy. We need to know the content of his character if we are to pass final judgement.

How many ropes has he ducked? Has he ever even bought a drink at the LRI?

[Rasputin]

Care to expand more on that one, big guy? Sounds like you you're suggesting that it was "improper" loading technique that broke the chair ?

I also heard that similar excuse of, someone "unloading improperly" on Lavelle which broke the chair.

I ain't buying either reasons. Sounds like your liftie roomy has been drinking the coolaid

Most problems in loading lifts are due to skiers doing it wrong. Warren Miller used to put a segment of skiers failing on lifts in every movie. Every ski area has lift loading fails, where kids or adults fall off because they don't get seated well. That this might have contributed to the chair swinging, should not only be seen as possible, but likely.

The chair coming apart is one issue, sounds like a material failure of some sort. The chair swinging sideways, has been a tendency of that chair since it was opened (I would not be surprised if it was due to some failing in the installation, but that's just a hunch), and one that could be made very much worse by the scenario Stuck's roomie suggested.

[toast2266]

Most problems in loading lifts are due to skiers doing it wrong.

I'm always impressed at the new and exciting ways that gapers come up with to fuck up loading and unloading a chair.

That said, the problems with snowbowls chairs are well documented. If you have to know the secret trick about how to load the chair safely, the problem isn't the skier, its the chair. That's a thousand times more true for a lift that services beginner and intermediate terrain. Loading a chair with young kids is a shitshow in the best of times, and the last thing any parent needs is to be worrying about successfully executing the double extra secret snowbowl loading technique with their four year old.

[FreakofSnow]

Thank you toast, that was the point I was trying to make [emoji106].

This also happened last week: Breckenridge Skier Dead After Falling From Chairlift "Attempting To Remove Snow From The Seat Surface”

Report says the 60 yr old fell from 25 feet, onto hardpack and was wearing a helmet.


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[CrystalMountainSkier]

Long story short, douchebag couldn't just sit down and let the lifties boost his kid. He kept trying to "help," then freaked out when his inability to load the lift properly broke it. Snowpark lift should be open when the higher ups at the FS approve the safety inspection by the normal guy who checked on the chair replacement. Which should be Wednesday since they are closed Monday and Tuesday
I pounded a bunch of beer last night for some reason. Wasn't a great move.

It wasn't even his chair that had the misload. It was the chair ahead.

[jackattack]

I'm always impressed at the new and exciting ways that gapers come up with to fuck up loading and unloading a chair.

That said, the problems with snowbowls chairs are well documented. If you have to know the secret trick about how to load the chair safely, the problem isn't the skier, its the chair. That's a thousand times more true for a lift that services beginner and intermediate terrain. Loading a chair with young kids is a shitshow in the best of times, and the last thing any parent needs is to be worrying about successfully executing the double extra secret snowbowl loading technique with their four year old.

The root of the issue is that the chair was able to strike the pole with significant force. I ride center pole riblets every day and have swung into the halo when following a bad load but was never within striking distance of the pole. I think the inspection will result in some modification to the halo installation at the very least.

A commenter on liftblog posted:

Guards / Halo’s / Riblets
The carrier shall be capable of swinging 8 degrees without contacting the guard. When the carrier contacts the guard there shall be a minimum of 12″of clearance between the intermost part of the chair and tower.

That does not sound consistent with snowbowl's halo placement.

[406]

Yeah, sounds like the chair prior was his kid on a snowboard and those often seem to get the center pole Riblet swinging.

When Pat bent the halo up to keep from decapitating people over 5'5 it no longer protected chair from hitting pole. Seems like that should have been obvious to someone with decades of Riblet experience.

Sounds like same "engineer" who laid out the lift line also came in to "fix", sure hope not, clearly well past retirement.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Thank you toast, that was the point I was trying to make [emoji106].

This also happened last week: Breckenridge Skier Dead After Falling From Chairlift "Attempting To Remove Snow From The Seat Surface”

Report says the 60 yr old fell from 25 feet, onto hardpack and was wearing a helmet.


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A helmet wouldn’t help at 60 ft. Who doesn’t hold onto the chair with one hand while sweeping snow off the seat with the other? Sounds like user error.

I love Riblet double chairs. Chair 3 and 4 at Mission are usually fast moving and it keeps the gapers off them.

Snowbowl sounds like they have problems with that lift and are a little lax in the safety department


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[S_jenks]

One of the best parts about the lift are how they mixed and matched lift towers from its former ski hill.

Some towers look like a normal height, but some are clearly too tall and can have +\- 20 feet of extra tower sticking up from the top.

It’s cool that they managed to do it. But I think sticking with skytrac will be best from here on out. They can/should afford to outsource that work.

[RootSkier]

Today was real fucking good, Snowpark issues aside. Weird soup though. Garland must be cleaning out the freezer.

[romeo tango]

..A helmet wouldn’t help at 60 ft....

.
too many variables involved with a helmet strike from that height to generalize ....

.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

It says a 60 year old man fell 25 feet, not 60 feet.

Yeah I read that wrong. Still, 25 feet is a long fall for anyone, let alone a 60 yo.


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[stuckathuntermtn]

Like I said, Snowbowl's lifts are not idiot proof, but most people seem to be able to get on and off them without breaking them. It's like saying a street is dangerous because an idiot drove the wrong way down a one way. Does it happen often? Then there is a problem with the street/signage. Does it happen once every few years? User error.
Of course, take what my lify housemate says with a grain of salt. He wasn't even there when it happened.
Useful tip for many situations in life: look around at what people are doing, especially if those people really look like they know what they're doing. Then copy that.
Don't get me wrong: there's no love lost between me and the Snowbowl ownership, but I was greatly comforted to learn how much oversight there is by the FS. I also know how to read instructions and sit down and stand up at a give time and place.

[stuckathuntermtn]

And yeah, Snowpark lift is a total kludge. But, again, everyone else gets on and off it just fine.

[toast2266]

And yeah, Snowpark lift is a total kludge. But, again, everyone else gets on and off it just fine.

Based on the number of scrapes and dents on the first lift tower in the picture posted up thread, it would appear that's not actually true.

[stuckathuntermtn]

With the general state of predominantly ancient infrastructure and quirky business practices, what drives the snowbowl apologist behavior of the true believers? Stockholm Syndrome? A cult of personality?

It's probably Stockholm Syndrome at this point.

[stuckathuntermtn]

Based on the number of scrapes and dents on the first lift tower in the picture posted up thread, it would appear that's not actually true.

I once joked to someone that the newest things at Snowbowl were the Dewalt toolboxes at the bases of some of the towers where, I think, they keep the evac gear. I think it's always been like that since they got it. Or maybe it was from when they kludge it in wrong the first year?
IDK man, I've been riding chairlifts a long time and I think I only ever caused a stoppage once. Just.... sit the fuck down. There's no "trick".
"Anyone who has ridden Snow Park chair since it opens knows that the chair often swings violently after it loads and the chairs often bang into one of the first few towers on the way up." Never had that problem. You people are hitting the tower?