It's the top story on my local news here in Vancouver. The gondola broke down at about 3:30 this afternoon, and around 75 people had to be evacuated from the cabins by repelling down from them. It took 5.5 hrs to get everyone off the lift. A couple of cases of frostbite but other than that, no serious injuries. I'm going to try and find a news clip here...
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Lake Louise Gondola Incident
Started by Whistler, Nov 27 2005 11:05 PM
26 replies to this topic
#2
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Posted 28 November 2005 - 03:39 AM
This even made the Palm Beach Post.
A news article from another topic:
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65 trapped on Lake Louise gondola
Canadian Press
Published: November 27, 2005
LAKE LOUISE, Alta. (CP) - Frantic parents erupted in anger at Louise Louise resort officials late Sunday as dozens of skiers, including crying children, were trapped on the gondola as darkness fell and temperatures plummeted.
"It's been an absolute fiasco, the lack of every kind of organization one would expect,'' a furious Michael Giuffy told a resort official who was trying to stop him from speaking with a reporter three hours after the Grizzly Express stopped working.
Giuffy's two sons, aged 10 and 15, were on the gondola when it stopped just after 3 p.m. -- shortly after the World Cup ski races ended at the resort 200 kilometres west of Calgary.
"It's minus five, minus 10 and there's been absolutely no been attempt by your organization to communicate with parents who have children there,'' said Giuffy, a pediatric cardiologist from Calgary.
"It's an absolute joke -- I think people should be terrified to have their kids here without a parent accompanying them on every single lift,'' he said, his voice shaking.
Guiffy said lights were only brought onto the skill hill to illuminate the area for those trapped on the lift after he threatened officials.
One of the safety switches on the Grizzly Express gondola tripped out about 3 p.m, leaving the skiers stranded above the resort, said Rick Werner, operations manager at Lake Louise Mountain resort.
Skiers were stranded from the bottom of the ski hill to the top of the mountain. There was no immediate word on injuries.
Werner described the malfunction as similar to a blown tire and said officials were attempting to fix it late Sunday.
Officials began evacuations about 5:30 p.m. local time, but estimated it could take a couple of hours to complete the rescues. Eight teams of ski patrollers were working to help get those trapped out of the gondola cabins.
"We've got ski patrols with headlights and (snow) cats out there so it's being handled in a safe way and as quickly as we can,'' said Werner.
"We have a very well-executed evacuation plan. It's a self-propelled unit that goes along the cable with the patroller, who then enters the gondola cabin. We hook cables and harness devices around the people and children, then we lower them to the ground and we take them down off the mountain via snow cat or skidoos.''
A tearful Jodi Vanderwerf of Canmore, Alta., said her sons Jon-Henry, 10, and Luke, 9, were on the lift and getting more upset as time passed.
"We've got a cellphone and we've been talking to back and forth but they're crying now,'' she said.
© Canadian Press 2005
A news article from another topic:
---
65 trapped on Lake Louise gondola
Canadian Press
Published: November 27, 2005
LAKE LOUISE, Alta. (CP) - Frantic parents erupted in anger at Louise Louise resort officials late Sunday as dozens of skiers, including crying children, were trapped on the gondola as darkness fell and temperatures plummeted.
"It's been an absolute fiasco, the lack of every kind of organization one would expect,'' a furious Michael Giuffy told a resort official who was trying to stop him from speaking with a reporter three hours after the Grizzly Express stopped working.
Giuffy's two sons, aged 10 and 15, were on the gondola when it stopped just after 3 p.m. -- shortly after the World Cup ski races ended at the resort 200 kilometres west of Calgary.
"It's minus five, minus 10 and there's been absolutely no been attempt by your organization to communicate with parents who have children there,'' said Giuffy, a pediatric cardiologist from Calgary.
"It's an absolute joke -- I think people should be terrified to have their kids here without a parent accompanying them on every single lift,'' he said, his voice shaking.
Guiffy said lights were only brought onto the skill hill to illuminate the area for those trapped on the lift after he threatened officials.
One of the safety switches on the Grizzly Express gondola tripped out about 3 p.m, leaving the skiers stranded above the resort, said Rick Werner, operations manager at Lake Louise Mountain resort.
Skiers were stranded from the bottom of the ski hill to the top of the mountain. There was no immediate word on injuries.
Werner described the malfunction as similar to a blown tire and said officials were attempting to fix it late Sunday.
Officials began evacuations about 5:30 p.m. local time, but estimated it could take a couple of hours to complete the rescues. Eight teams of ski patrollers were working to help get those trapped out of the gondola cabins.
"We've got ski patrols with headlights and (snow) cats out there so it's being handled in a safe way and as quickly as we can,'' said Werner.
"We have a very well-executed evacuation plan. It's a self-propelled unit that goes along the cable with the patroller, who then enters the gondola cabin. We hook cables and harness devices around the people and children, then we lower them to the ground and we take them down off the mountain via snow cat or skidoos.''
A tearful Jodi Vanderwerf of Canmore, Alta., said her sons Jon-Henry, 10, and Luke, 9, were on the lift and getting more upset as time passed.
"We've got a cellphone and we've been talking to back and forth but they're crying now,'' she said.
© Canadian Press 2005
- Tyler
West Palm Beach, FL - elev. 9 feet
West Palm Beach, FL - elev. 9 feet
#3
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Posted 28 November 2005 - 09:41 AM
From CBC News:
Alberta ski resort seeking answers in gondola malfunction
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/20...ola-051128.html
Alberta ski resort seeking answers in gondola malfunction
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/20...ola-051128.html
#4
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Posted 28 November 2005 - 10:04 AM
Story with night picture
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...Story/National/
Video of evac:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-1...a-gondola_x.htm
Web cam of gondola and base area
http://www.skilouise.com/mountain_cam/
An early Poma gondola with CWA cabins - originally at Squaw Valley 85-98.
Image of grip, hanger, etc. in forum.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...Story/National/
Video of evac:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-1...a-gondola_x.htm
Web cam of gondola and base area
http://www.skilouise.com/mountain_cam/
An early Poma gondola with CWA cabins - originally at Squaw Valley 85-98.
Image of grip, hanger, etc. in forum.
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This post has been edited by Ryan B: 28 November 2005 - 01:49 PM
www.ropetech.org
#5
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Posted 28 November 2005 - 11:27 AM
I heard about the accident this morning, pretty scary. I was there this past Saturday and the gondola was working perfectly I heard that a switch like a brittle or break fork was tripped and that what caused the lift to stop. I have to tell you the truth, that gondola has been rittled with problems since day one. Even though everything was re-built and new electrical stuff from SISAG. I bet not just LL will be investigating, but since it was an electrical problem maby SISAG should get involved in this.
Tyler.M
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Posted 28 November 2005 - 04:57 PM
I wonder what prevented them from running the evac motor.
-Bryan
Theres a place for all of God's creatures, right next to the mashed potatoes.
"You could say that a mountain is alot like a woman, once you think you know every inch of her and you're about to dip your skis into some soft, deep powder...Bam, you've got two broken legs, cracked ribs and you pay your $20 just to let her punch your lift ticket all over again"
Theres a place for all of God's creatures, right next to the mashed potatoes.
"You could say that a mountain is alot like a woman, once you think you know every inch of her and you're about to dip your skis into some soft, deep powder...Bam, you've got two broken legs, cracked ribs and you pay your $20 just to let her punch your lift ticket all over again"
#7
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Posted 28 November 2005 - 05:41 PM
From what I've read, the cable derailed off of 1 sheave.
This post has been edited by Skier: 28 November 2005 - 05:41 PM
- Peter<br />
Liftblog.com
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Posted 28 November 2005 - 09:00 PM
"I wonder what prevented them from running the evac motor."
There are many possible lift mishaps - even minor ones - that preclude moving the lift with any power source. Often there exists the risk of doing further damage to the machinery and/or further compromising the safety of passengers.
Let's all remember that there has yet to be any official mention of the actual cause of this shutdown. There have been some pretty stupid comments irresponsibly tossed about by the media - but nothing worth formulating an opinion around. At some point, we'll all know - but until then, all parties involved deserve a break.
There are many possible lift mishaps - even minor ones - that preclude moving the lift with any power source. Often there exists the risk of doing further damage to the machinery and/or further compromising the safety of passengers.
Let's all remember that there has yet to be any official mention of the actual cause of this shutdown. There have been some pretty stupid comments irresponsibly tossed about by the media - but nothing worth formulating an opinion around. At some point, we'll all know - but until then, all parties involved deserve a break.
There are three roads to ruin; women, gambling and technicians. The most pleasant is with women, the quickest is with gambling, but the surest is with technicians. Georges Pompidou
#9
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Posted 28 November 2005 - 09:14 PM
Zage, on Nov 28 2005, 10:27 AM, said:
I heard about the accident this morning, pretty scary. I was there this past Saturday and the gondola was working perfectly I heard that a switch like a brittle or break fork was tripped and that what caused the lift to stop. I have to tell you the truth, that gondola has been rittled with problems since day one. Even though everything was re-built and new electrical stuff from SISAG. I bet not just LL will be investigating, but since it was an electrical problem maby SISAG should get involved in this.
What other problems have you heard about on the lift? I havent heard too much about it down here. When I was there it was great and it was a great way to access the mountain and was a great investment for them for mountain access.
This post has been edited by poloxskier: 28 November 2005 - 09:18 PM
-Bryan
Theres a place for all of God's creatures, right next to the mashed potatoes.
"You could say that a mountain is alot like a woman, once you think you know every inch of her and you're about to dip your skis into some soft, deep powder...Bam, you've got two broken legs, cracked ribs and you pay your $20 just to let her punch your lift ticket all over again"
Theres a place for all of God's creatures, right next to the mashed potatoes.
"You could say that a mountain is alot like a woman, once you think you know every inch of her and you're about to dip your skis into some soft, deep powder...Bam, you've got two broken legs, cracked ribs and you pay your $20 just to let her punch your lift ticket all over again"
#10
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Posted 29 November 2005 - 05:12 AM
Emax, on Nov 29 2005, 12:00 AM, said:
"I wonder what prevented them from running the evac motor."
There are many possible lift mishaps - even minor ones - that preclude moving the lift with any power source. Often there exists the risk of doing further damage to the machinery and/or further compromising the safety of passengers.
Let's all remember that there has yet to be any official mention of the actual cause of this shutdown. There have been some pretty stupid comments irresponsibly tossed about by the media - but nothing worth formulating an opinion around. At some point, we'll all know - but until then, all parties involved deserve a break.
There are many possible lift mishaps - even minor ones - that preclude moving the lift with any power source. Often there exists the risk of doing further damage to the machinery and/or further compromising the safety of passengers.
Let's all remember that there has yet to be any official mention of the actual cause of this shutdown. There have been some pretty stupid comments irresponsibly tossed about by the media - but nothing worth formulating an opinion around. At some point, we'll all know - but until then, all parties involved deserve a break.
Thank you Emax, too many times I open this post and find comments from people on this site that should be informed but sound rediculous.
So let's all wait for real information before we sound like the media.
#11
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Posted 29 November 2005 - 10:18 AM
Emax, on Nov 28 2005, 08:00 PM, said:
"I wonder what prevented them from running the evac motor."
There are many possible lift mishaps - even minor ones - that preclude moving the lift with any power source. Often there exists the risk of doing further damage to the machinery and/or further compromising the safety of passengers.
Let's all remember that there has yet to be any official mention of the actual cause of this shutdown. There have been some pretty stupid comments irresponsibly tossed about by the media - but nothing worth formulating an opinion around. At some point, we'll all know - but until then, all parties involved deserve a break.
There are many possible lift mishaps - even minor ones - that preclude moving the lift with any power source. Often there exists the risk of doing further damage to the machinery and/or further compromising the safety of passengers.
Let's all remember that there has yet to be any official mention of the actual cause of this shutdown. There have been some pretty stupid comments irresponsibly tossed about by the media - but nothing worth formulating an opinion around. At some point, we'll all know - but until then, all parties involved deserve a break.
I phrased that incorrectly I ment that to be more of a question of what would prevent that other than something obvious like a deropement. As I have never worked on or arround a lift I just was wondering what kind of safety switches cause a shut down(ie rope sensors, grip sensors)?
This post has been edited by poloxskier: 29 November 2005 - 10:20 AM
-Bryan
Theres a place for all of God's creatures, right next to the mashed potatoes.
"You could say that a mountain is alot like a woman, once you think you know every inch of her and you're about to dip your skis into some soft, deep powder...Bam, you've got two broken legs, cracked ribs and you pay your $20 just to let her punch your lift ticket all over again"
Theres a place for all of God's creatures, right next to the mashed potatoes.
"You could say that a mountain is alot like a woman, once you think you know every inch of her and you're about to dip your skis into some soft, deep powder...Bam, you've got two broken legs, cracked ribs and you pay your $20 just to let her punch your lift ticket all over again"
#12
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Posted 29 November 2005 - 11:59 AM
"I phrased that incorrectly I ment that to be more of a question of what would prevent that other than something obvious like a deropement. As I have never worked on or arround a lift I just was wondering what kind of safety switches cause a shut down(ie rope sensors, grip sensors)?"
I see what you mean now. Wow, there are lots of possibilities. Nearly any condition that is "out of parameter" will result in a shutdown. Boiled down, lifts are really simple machines: Start; Stop; Fast; Slow - with a big emphasis on STOP, the most likely "safe" condition. The control circuitry that constitutes the "stop circuit" far outweighs any other on the schematic or in the cabinet. It must deal not with routines but possibilities and unknowns - most of which we all hope do not happen. But because it has been shown that so many kinds of failures can happen, virtually every aspect of machine operation is monitored. Sometimes a misexecution will result in a warning message, but most often it will stop everything. It's the nature of the beast.
I see what you mean now. Wow, there are lots of possibilities. Nearly any condition that is "out of parameter" will result in a shutdown. Boiled down, lifts are really simple machines: Start; Stop; Fast; Slow - with a big emphasis on STOP, the most likely "safe" condition. The control circuitry that constitutes the "stop circuit" far outweighs any other on the schematic or in the cabinet. It must deal not with routines but possibilities and unknowns - most of which we all hope do not happen. But because it has been shown that so many kinds of failures can happen, virtually every aspect of machine operation is monitored. Sometimes a misexecution will result in a warning message, but most often it will stop everything. It's the nature of the beast.
There are three roads to ruin; women, gambling and technicians. The most pleasant is with women, the quickest is with gambling, but the surest is with technicians. Georges Pompidou
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Posted 29 November 2005 - 05:40 PM
I think they are finally reaping many wonderous years under the ultimate low-baller in the industry. Since his retirement you would think that the resorts of the rockies would have come a full 180 degree's???
WRONG!! They decided to build that gondola in house. This obviously was the final straw for the maintenance departement. With the lift unfinished more than half of the lift maintenance dept quit. Literally cleaning house. They had to contract out the completion of the lift to Highlander who is a private contractor WHAT A MESS!
I am just thankful no one was seriously hurt.
If I can I will be sure to ask a former employee to comment.
A.R.M out
WRONG!! They decided to build that gondola in house. This obviously was the final straw for the maintenance departement. With the lift unfinished more than half of the lift maintenance dept quit. Literally cleaning house. They had to contract out the completion of the lift to Highlander who is a private contractor WHAT A MESS!
I am just thankful no one was seriously hurt.
If I can I will be sure to ask a former employee to comment.
A.R.M out
#14 Guest_altaskier_*
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Posted 30 November 2005 - 06:05 PM
Thanks A.R.M.
I presume you're alluding to the former national park warden who is now also the former head of RCR?
What you just said about this lift comfirms what I have heard previously from two very reliable individuals. Just couldn't believe it then....
I presume you're alluding to the former national park warden who is now also the former head of RCR?
What you just said about this lift comfirms what I have heard previously from two very reliable individuals. Just couldn't believe it then....
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Posted 04 December 2005 - 06:27 PM
The Cypress Sky Chair (the one in my display pic) had a power failure and had to be evacuated last night. It had a bullwheel replacment over the summer and various electrical upgrades...Talk about bad luck.
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Posted 04 December 2005 - 08:45 PM
They were running it? That would explain things...
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Posted 06 December 2005 - 04:38 AM
Whistler, on Dec 4 2005, 07:27 PM, said:
The Cypress Sky Chair (the one in my display pic) had a power failure and had to be evacuated last night.
Is that one still powered by electricity from the diesel generator next to the bottom terminal?
Member, Department of Ancient Technology, Colorado chapter.
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Posted 06 December 2005 - 05:35 PM
OK - let's cut to the chase. Is anyone informed - from an official source - as to what actually caused the stoppage?
There are three roads to ruin; women, gambling and technicians. The most pleasant is with women, the quickest is with gambling, but the surest is with technicians. Georges Pompidou
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Posted 07 December 2005 - 01:07 PM
This is vague and unofficial. There were 2 problems. The bearings failed in a lead in sheave, I believe at the top tower. This caused a deropement. It took about 1.5 hours to fix. After this was done and an attempt was made to start the lift, a second problem was found with the bullwheel or liner. This was not repairable so hence the evacuation. This is 2nd hand info so it may not be that accurate, but would explain the delay in starting the evac, which is entirely understandable.
Rob
Ray's Rule for Precision - Measure with a micrometer, mark with chalk, cut with an axe.
Ray's Rule for Precision - Measure with a micrometer, mark with chalk, cut with an axe.
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