46 replies to this topic

[DonaldMReif]

liftmech, on Sep 13 2007, 05:53 AM, said:

It takes a great deal of force to peel a grip off, allowing for situations as filmed here... I agree with Jeff, that is definitely crazy.

But how do you explain the Quicksilver lift accident at Whistler when it was caused by a grip peeling?

[DonaldMReif]

Skiing#1, on Oct 6 2008, 11:38 PM, said:

The several chairs are swining. Wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MYmniEupIQ...feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-5ks3JLl-g...feature=related

I noticed the bubble chairs tend to swing than the chairs without bubbles. Are any chairs without bubbles swining yet?

Answer: probably not. Bubbles tend to block the wind which swings the chairs. That can explain why the bubbles on the Vista Bahn Express lift and Steamboat's Storm Peak Express and Sundown Express lifts were removed, so that the wind could flow straight through the chairs instead of repel off.

[Lift Kid]

DonaldMReif, on Mar 7 2009, 03:35 PM, said:

But how do you explain the Quicksilver lift accident at Whistler when it was caused by a grip peeling?

The Quicksilver accident had very little to do with the wind, but rather the temperature. The Yan detachable grip had a rubber "marshmallow" spring. It worked very well in warmer temps, but when it gets cold, rubber gets hard. Therefore, when the temp was cooler, those grips didn't always put out the proper gripping force, hence the Quicksilver incident. However, currently used grips have springs, which have gripping force in all weather. They will hold under a lot of pressure.

[DonaldMReif]

Some detachable lift chairs stand rather well to resist wind, as you'll see in this video from the Village Express at Snowmass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agHfGrdV63s. The winds are at 65 mph, but the chairs still only swing a tiny bit, compared to in the first post.

[Kicking Horse]

DonaldMReif, on Mar 8 2009, 12:33 PM, said:

Some detachable lift chairs stand rather well to resist wind, as you'll see in this video from the Village Express at Snowmass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agHfGrdV63s. The winds are at 65 mph, but the chairs still only swing a tiny bit, compared to in the first post.

Donald, I posted that link already.......... I shot that video! (See the derail topic)

This post has been edited by Kicking Horse: 08 March 2009 - 04:33 PM

[Lift Dinosaur]

DonaldMReif, on Mar 8 2009, 12:33 PM, said:

Some detachable lift chairs stand rather well to resist wind, as you'll see in this video from the Village Express at Snowmass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agHfGrdV63s. The winds are at 65 mph, but the chairs still only swing a tiny bit, compared to in the first post.

Donald - you are talking about apples and oranges.
The first video is of a carrier attached to the cable and exposed to wind and its variations- it appears to be a crosswind- (apples).
The last video (referenced by you) is of a carrier detached from the cable and stabilzed by the terminal structure - the wind appears to be down the line and the carrier is also somewhat protected by the operator's house.-(oranges)

Dino

[zeedotcom]

DonaldMReif, on Mar 8 2009, 01:33 PM, said:

Some detachable lift chairs stand rather well to resist wind, as you'll see in this video from the Village Express at Snowmass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agHfGrdV63s. The winds are at 65 mph, but the chairs still only swing a tiny bit, compared to in the first post.

The chair right there in the terminal gets a bit of movement, but it is also stopped. Look at the other chair in the background. Just being out of the terminal makes a huge difference. It is swinging quite a bit more.

[Skiing#1]

I found one video

Gondola car was swinging too.

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

[Kicking Horse]

Cant Forget this video...

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=r6Owx7lsX8Q

[DonaldMReif]

zeedotcom, on 09 March 2009 - 05:07 AM, said:

The chair right there in the terminal gets a bit of movement, but it is also stopped. Look at the other chair in the background. Just being out of the terminal makes a huge difference. It is swinging quite a bit more.

I don't know if it has to do something with the chair being heavier or something like that to make it slightly more resistant. I do wonder to what extent a lift can be windproofed.

[liftmech]

Not much.

[DonaldMReif]

liftmech, on 24 September 2012 - 06:37 PM, said:

Not much.

Does make me wonder, why so many combination towers on Palmer at Timberline, even where they wouldn't be on regular lifts, other than for wind protection.

[liftmech]

Probably. Never ridden that lift, don't know its profile. Combos are normally used where the rope might float off a non-trapped assembly under certain loading conditions.

[DonaldMReif]

liftmech, on 24 September 2012 - 06:46 PM, said:

Probably. Never ridden that lift, don't know its profile. Combos are normally used where the rope might float off a non-trapped assembly under certain loading conditions.

There's an image here that might be of good reference: http://img696.images...2/dscn1457v.jpg

[skier2]

DonaldMReif, on 24 September 2012 - 07:07 PM, said:

There's an image here that might be of good reference: http://img696.images...2/dscn1457v.jpg

Wind and also because I think they leave the haul rope on even when the lift is half buried

[DonaldMReif]

skier2, on 25 September 2012 - 11:22 AM, said:

Wind and also because I think they leave the haul rope on even when the lift is half buried

In the former case, that would explain why Imperial at Breckenridge has combis for towers 3-7 consecutively. However, that's also a pretty steep rise that necessitates the extra combi towers.

[Skiing#1]

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

Look!

[Lift Dinosaur]

Looks to me like they are in a very long, steep span. Nothing really to do with the tension system.
And they danged near kissed the haul rope!
Dino

[DonaldMReif]

I'm so glad Lift 6 and the Peak 8 SuperConnect don't have that much bouncing up and down if the lift slows when you're in the areas with the long spans (Lift 6 on the lower part and the SuperConnect above the breakover that crests the ridge at tower 23).