Just stumbled across this on my lunch break.... Hope this turns out OK for everyone.
http://www.boston.co...rt_several.html
Six injured in Sugarloaf ski lift accident
By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff
Six people suffered non-life-threatening injuries in a chairlift accident this morning at the Sugarloaf Mountain ski resort in Maine, the resort said in a statement.
The accident happened at about 10:30 a.m. when the Spillway East chairlift derailed from the lift's eighth tower. Five chairs on the lift fell 25 to 30 feet to the ground, the resort said.
The injured skiers were treated and were being transported to a local hospital. At the time of the accident, there were 220 people dangling on the lift in the frigid winds.
The ski patrol at the resort is responding to the incident and evacuating people from the lift, the resort said.
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Sugarloaf Chairlift Accident
Started by MNSkier, Dec 28 2010 10:14 AM
35 replies to this topic
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Posted 28 December 2010 - 02:42 PM
Good first person account video here: http://www.boston.co...rt_several.html
Of note:
- There was someone working on the tower that the cable derailed from at the time of the accident.
- The lift had stopped and started multiple times in the minutes before the accident including one time for about 25 minutes.
- "The wheels were a little bit crooked."
- Wind did not seem to be particularly strong.
Another account on the Sugarloaf Today forums:
Of note:
- There was someone working on the tower that the cable derailed from at the time of the accident.
- The lift had stopped and started multiple times in the minutes before the accident including one time for about 25 minutes.
- "The wheels were a little bit crooked."
- Wind did not seem to be particularly strong.
Another account on the Sugarloaf Today forums:
Quote
Mid-morning, I chose Spillway West based mostly on the fact that there was no lift line (but a little on the fact that I did get stuck on Spillway East yesterday for about 10 minutes after I felt some "lurching" a la King Pine's Bullwheel incident of last March). As I unloaded, I noticed a lift mechanic on a snowmobile creeping slowly past the terminal of Spillway West and, surprisingly, heading right down Spillway. He was driving markedly slowly, eyes glued to the tower sheaves (pulley wheels). I thought nothing of it really, deducing that he must be responding to the issues that I felt yesterday (Monday, 12/27). I skied down Spillway (which, mind you, was amazing, even though it was all crud bumps). By the time I got to the bottom of Spillway, East was stopped, so I jumped on West and headed up again. Obviously, something was up as I had completed the entire trip up West while East remained unmoved. Two towers before the West terminal, that same lift mechanic was clipped in to the top of the tower, straddling the East side "T". He had a large screwdriver out and was using it as a lever to twist some kind of tension screw device which connected to the upward tower sheaves. I'm not an engineer but it seems like he was trying to correct the stresses on the sheaves or their housing. I did not see him hammering anything in my 30 seconds of observation. He was simply twisting a large tensioning screw. There didn't appear to be anymore ice or rime on the lifts, towers, or sheaves than there normally is and, in all honesty, this was a modest windy day for Sugarloaf standards. I unloaded and headed down Winter's Way for another amazing run. Spillway East was still stopped so I headed down to the Superquad. That is when I noticed, from the distance of the base of the mountain to Spillway, a lot of people scattered about the trail, just about where the steeper pitch of Spillway begins. I thought it must just be a team of patrollers beginning evacuations. Little did I know that the sheaves on the same tower I saw the mechanic working on had given way and the line had dropped.
Upon closer inspection, it didn't look like the lift had "derailed", but that those tower sheaves and their housing had either tweaked outward and rotated so that the cable had nowhere to go but off. It took about 1-1.5 hours to get everybody who hadn't fallen off of the lift. I saw at least a half dozen evac. teams helping people off. Everyone from the patrol to mechanics, even ambassadors (wow, they do do something!). As the evacs. were happening, so, too, were the rescues of those hurt in the fall. I saw two sleds go down Spillway with people bundled on them who were clearly hurt. Also, the two Bullwinkle's Bombardier Cats were taking relatives up to the hurt and taking people down from the trail. I think the mountain decided at about 11:30 or so to begin shutting down all lifts (including T-Bar #3) that accessed the Spillway area. At 1:30, Superquad, DRC East and West, and the T-Bar were all running until closing. Spillway West remained shutdown for the remainder of the day. King Pine and Timberline were never opened due to wind. Whiffletree, Snubber, Skidway, and Sawduster were all open during this time. I'm not sure about Bucksaw.
Anyway, if you've read this far, congrats. Sorry it was so long. It was an incredible, terrifying, surreal, adventurous, emergency-filled, and bad day.
Upon closer inspection, it didn't look like the lift had "derailed", but that those tower sheaves and their housing had either tweaked outward and rotated so that the cable had nowhere to go but off. It took about 1-1.5 hours to get everybody who hadn't fallen off of the lift. I saw at least a half dozen evac. teams helping people off. Everyone from the patrol to mechanics, even ambassadors (wow, they do do something!). As the evacs. were happening, so, too, were the rescues of those hurt in the fall. I saw two sleds go down Spillway with people bundled on them who were clearly hurt. Also, the two Bullwinkle's Bombardier Cats were taking relatives up to the hurt and taking people down from the trail. I think the mountain decided at about 11:30 or so to begin shutting down all lifts (including T-Bar #3) that accessed the Spillway area. At 1:30, Superquad, DRC East and West, and the T-Bar were all running until closing. Spillway West remained shutdown for the remainder of the day. King Pine and Timberline were never opened due to wind. Whiffletree, Snubber, Skidway, and Sawduster were all open during this time. I'm not sure about Bucksaw.
Anyway, if you've read this far, congrats. Sorry it was so long. It was an incredible, terrifying, surreal, adventurous, emergency-filled, and bad day.
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Posted 28 December 2010 - 03:51 PM
Following the link above to the eyewitness account, I notice that she states that the lift was not moving when the incident occurred. It had stopped intermittently - and had stopped for quite a long time - just prior, but when the rope actually came off the lift had not yet started moving.
Strange. A deropement while at a standstill?
Strange. A deropement while at a standstill?
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 28 December 2010 - 04:25 PM
Here are a few pictures of the sheaves on this lift that I took earlier this season. On another forum, I read that Borvig designed these sheave trains to be self-aligning, meaning that they could swing horizontally with the haul rope. However, apparently most have been welded in place.
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Posted 28 December 2010 - 05:11 PM
More pictures...
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Posted 28 December 2010 - 05:36 PM
Emax, on 28 December 2010 - 03:51 PM, said:
Following the link above to the eyewitness account, I notice that she states that the lift was not moving when the incident occurred. It had stopped intermittently - and had stopped for quite a long time - just prior, but when the rope actually came off the lift had not yet started moving.
Strange. A deropement while at a standstill?
Strange. A deropement while at a standstill?
Mary Lou Warn from Winslow, ME....I'll wait for another report and another source.
Not to discredit what she saw, but how it was interpreted.
Hope everyone is OK.
Dino
"Things turn out best for the people that make the best of the way things turn out." A.L.
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Posted 28 December 2010 - 08:15 PM
I saw the video from youtube.com and it explained what happened. One of the sheaves loosed and fall from the tower then the rope got off and fall. It says 35 years old lift, 4,000 foot cable and 500 feet per minute.
I am happy the skiers are ok.
I am happy the skiers are ok.
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Posted 29 December 2010 - 11:06 AM
Quote
Report: High winds may have caused Maine ski lift derailment
By the CNN Wire Staff
December 29, 2010 12:37 p.m. EST
(CNN) -- High winds may have caused the derailment of a ski lift at Maine's Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Resort Tuesday that left eight people injured, according to an initial report issued Wednesday by the state's Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety.
Resort spokesman Ethan Austin said the "preliminary findings" suggest that "high winds are believed to be the cause" of the derailment.
Before the accident, high winds had delayed the ski lift's opening. Conditions at the time of the accident were windy, but not unusually so following a major snowstorm, Austin said.
Winds had diminished by mid-morning and resort personnel checked the lift prior to opening, Sugarloaf said in a statement.
Winds were gusting between 30 mph and 50 mph in the area at the time, according to CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras, and temperatures were well below freezing.
More than 200 people were trapped for up to 90 minutes following the derailment. The lift has remained closed while investigators look into the incident. The resort is located about 100 miles north of Portland, Maine.
Austin said the derailment on one tower of the Spillway East lift happened around 10:30 a.m. ET, when the lift's cable skipped over the edge of a pulley. Five of the lift's chairs fell 25 to 30 feet and hit the ground, he said.
"The chairs were pretty mangled, but the ski patrol was there right away," patron Ben Martin told CNN affiliate WCSH.
Robb Atkinson, a CNN employee who initially was trapped on the lift, said he saw skiers fall from the lift when it came to an abrupt stop during high winds.
"I felt a jerk," said Atkinson, who was riding the lift with his wife. He also described hearing "screams from skiers below" as he watched at least three chairs fall feet to the ground.
Matt Rolfson, 17, of Albion, Maine, was on a parallel lift with a friend and shot video from his helmet cam of injured skiers.
"People on the lift yelled to see if everyone was OK," said Rolfson, adding a portion of the Spillway East line did a "yo-yo."
He told CNN his lift was unaffected and he skied down later to offer assistance.
By the CNN Wire Staff
December 29, 2010 12:37 p.m. EST
(CNN) -- High winds may have caused the derailment of a ski lift at Maine's Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Resort Tuesday that left eight people injured, according to an initial report issued Wednesday by the state's Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety.
Resort spokesman Ethan Austin said the "preliminary findings" suggest that "high winds are believed to be the cause" of the derailment.
Before the accident, high winds had delayed the ski lift's opening. Conditions at the time of the accident were windy, but not unusually so following a major snowstorm, Austin said.
Winds had diminished by mid-morning and resort personnel checked the lift prior to opening, Sugarloaf said in a statement.
Winds were gusting between 30 mph and 50 mph in the area at the time, according to CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras, and temperatures were well below freezing.
More than 200 people were trapped for up to 90 minutes following the derailment. The lift has remained closed while investigators look into the incident. The resort is located about 100 miles north of Portland, Maine.
Austin said the derailment on one tower of the Spillway East lift happened around 10:30 a.m. ET, when the lift's cable skipped over the edge of a pulley. Five of the lift's chairs fell 25 to 30 feet and hit the ground, he said.
"The chairs were pretty mangled, but the ski patrol was there right away," patron Ben Martin told CNN affiliate WCSH.
Robb Atkinson, a CNN employee who initially was trapped on the lift, said he saw skiers fall from the lift when it came to an abrupt stop during high winds.
"I felt a jerk," said Atkinson, who was riding the lift with his wife. He also described hearing "screams from skiers below" as he watched at least three chairs fall feet to the ground.
Matt Rolfson, 17, of Albion, Maine, was on a parallel lift with a friend and shot video from his helmet cam of injured skiers.
"People on the lift yelled to see if everyone was OK," said Rolfson, adding a portion of the Spillway East line did a "yo-yo."
He told CNN his lift was unaffected and he skied down later to offer assistance.
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Posted 29 December 2010 - 12:45 PM
COSkier, on 29 December 2010 - 11:52 AM, said:
The media, not surprisingly, is all over the place with this. Here in Denver, a local news station said last night that wind is what caused this.
Kinda' makes one wonder why we bother with "media" at all. As far as I'm concerned, the spreading of misinformation is a crime against humanity.
An alarming number of HLN viewers regard Robin Meade an authoritative source of information. No wonder folks in other countries regard us as stupidity on wheels.
This post has been edited by Emax: 29 December 2010 - 12:47 PM
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 December 2010 - 01:52 PM
Latest statement from Sugarloaf:
Shocking that the State of Maine would find wind as the primary factor in the accident with that description of events from the ski area.
Quote
UPDATE 3: Sugarloaf Mountain Spillway East Incident Update - 4:00pm
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Carrabassett Valley, ME (Dec. 29, 2010) – Inspectors from the State of Maine Board of Elevators and Tramways, along with mountain operations personnel and representatives from Sugarloaf Mountain are investigating the deropement of the Spillway East chairlift, which took place at approximately 10:30am on Tuesday, December 28.
The investigation, which is still on-going, began on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 28. Today, the State of Maine Board of Elevators and Tramways believes that wind was a contributing factor in the lift deropement.
“Our two primary concerns right now are for the rapid recovery of those injured yesterday and the safety of all Sugarloaf guests,” said Sugarloaf spokesman Ethan Austin. “We’re incredibly grateful for the help offered by local and state agencies.”
A detailed report will be issued by the State of Maine Board of Elevators and Tramways once the investigation is complete.
Timeline of incident; mountain personnel response
Sugarloaf experienced winds immediately following the major snowstorm which dropped 22” of snow on the resort this Monday. As a result, several lifts at the resort, including the Spillway East chairlift, were placed on wind hold at the start of operations Tuesday.
Winds diminished as the morning progressed, and Spillway East was evaluated by the ski patrol director of Sugarloaf Mountain and a chairlift mechanic.
That evaluation included towers, top and bottom terminals, and the completion of Sugarloaf’s standard safety checks. The chairlift was opened to the public at 9:55 a.m.
At 10:23 AM, the Lift Operations Department received a maintenance request for Tower 8 from a Sugarloaf ski patroller. Two chairlift mechanics were dispatched at that time. The chairlift cable was observed to be running toward the outside of the rubber liners of the sheave train (the wheels on which the cable is supported) on Tower 8.
At 10:30AM, one lift mechanic arrived at Tower 8 and another arrived at the bottom terminal of Spillway East. Working in tandem, the mechanic at the bottom terminal of Spillway East communicated with the mechanic on Tower 8 while he made an adjustment to the sheave train per Sugarloaf’s operating and maintenance procedures. The lift was slowly started to enable the cable to settle back into the correct location on the sheaves.
The realignment effort was unsuccessful. The mechanics repeated the procedure, again unsuccessfully. The mechanic on Tower 8 determined that it would be inappropriate to run the chair at normal operating speed and the lift should be closed.
Mechanics started the lift at a slow operating speed to begin off-loading the guests who were on the lift.
Shortly after starting the lift at reduced speed, the lift cable deroped from Tower 8, leaving the cable suspended between Tower 9 and Tower 7. Lacking the support of the sheave wheels on Tower 8, five chairs struck the snow below.
When the deropement occurred, the mechanic on Tower 8 immediately notified the mechanic at the bottom terminal of Spillway East about the deropement. The lift was immediately stopped and locked out from further movement.
Ski patrol was immediately notified of the deropement, and lift evacuation procedures began at 10:45 am. At 12:14pm all guests had been evacuated from the lift. Sugarloaf ski patrol estimates that 150 people were evacuated.
Members from ski patrol, grooming department, snowmaking department, resort ambassadors, lift maintenance personnel and the Carrabassett Valley Fire Department responded to the scene. In total, 54 people contributed to the evacuation of the lift.
Update on injuries:
Six people were treated for injuries and sent to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, Maine. A seventh person, who initially was cleared to leave the scene, was admitted later in the day. Today, Sugarloaf Mountain learned that an eighth guest, who was initially cleared to leave the scene, checked into Franklin Memorial Hospital.
Three patients were transported from Franklin Memorial Hospital to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Due to patient and family confidentiality regulations, Sugarloaf cannot release information regarding the identity or nature of injuries to individuals. Further updates on the conditions of those injured can be obtained by contacting the hospitals.
Three guests who were unhurt requested to be transported to the base of the mountain after they were evacuated from the lift. One was taken via toboggan and two were taken inside a heated snow grooming tractor.
Status of the Spillway East Chairlift:
The State of Maine Elevator and Tramway Board has noted that there was some damage to lift components due to the deropement. All mechanical components remained in place after the incident and those components are currently being removed and will be analyzed further. The resort plans to replace the damaged parts with new equipment and go through safety testing and inspections prior to reopening the lift to the public.
Other lifts at Sugarloaf continue normal operations.
“Sugarloaf Mountain wishes the best for the people injured in the accident,” said Austin. “The resort remains committed to guest safety and its culture of safety instilled in every employee.”
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Carrabassett Valley, ME (Dec. 29, 2010) – Inspectors from the State of Maine Board of Elevators and Tramways, along with mountain operations personnel and representatives from Sugarloaf Mountain are investigating the deropement of the Spillway East chairlift, which took place at approximately 10:30am on Tuesday, December 28.
The investigation, which is still on-going, began on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 28. Today, the State of Maine Board of Elevators and Tramways believes that wind was a contributing factor in the lift deropement.
“Our two primary concerns right now are for the rapid recovery of those injured yesterday and the safety of all Sugarloaf guests,” said Sugarloaf spokesman Ethan Austin. “We’re incredibly grateful for the help offered by local and state agencies.”
A detailed report will be issued by the State of Maine Board of Elevators and Tramways once the investigation is complete.
Timeline of incident; mountain personnel response
Sugarloaf experienced winds immediately following the major snowstorm which dropped 22” of snow on the resort this Monday. As a result, several lifts at the resort, including the Spillway East chairlift, were placed on wind hold at the start of operations Tuesday.
Winds diminished as the morning progressed, and Spillway East was evaluated by the ski patrol director of Sugarloaf Mountain and a chairlift mechanic.
That evaluation included towers, top and bottom terminals, and the completion of Sugarloaf’s standard safety checks. The chairlift was opened to the public at 9:55 a.m.
At 10:23 AM, the Lift Operations Department received a maintenance request for Tower 8 from a Sugarloaf ski patroller. Two chairlift mechanics were dispatched at that time. The chairlift cable was observed to be running toward the outside of the rubber liners of the sheave train (the wheels on which the cable is supported) on Tower 8.
At 10:30AM, one lift mechanic arrived at Tower 8 and another arrived at the bottom terminal of Spillway East. Working in tandem, the mechanic at the bottom terminal of Spillway East communicated with the mechanic on Tower 8 while he made an adjustment to the sheave train per Sugarloaf’s operating and maintenance procedures. The lift was slowly started to enable the cable to settle back into the correct location on the sheaves.
The realignment effort was unsuccessful. The mechanics repeated the procedure, again unsuccessfully. The mechanic on Tower 8 determined that it would be inappropriate to run the chair at normal operating speed and the lift should be closed.
Mechanics started the lift at a slow operating speed to begin off-loading the guests who were on the lift.
Shortly after starting the lift at reduced speed, the lift cable deroped from Tower 8, leaving the cable suspended between Tower 9 and Tower 7. Lacking the support of the sheave wheels on Tower 8, five chairs struck the snow below.
When the deropement occurred, the mechanic on Tower 8 immediately notified the mechanic at the bottom terminal of Spillway East about the deropement. The lift was immediately stopped and locked out from further movement.
Ski patrol was immediately notified of the deropement, and lift evacuation procedures began at 10:45 am. At 12:14pm all guests had been evacuated from the lift. Sugarloaf ski patrol estimates that 150 people were evacuated.
Members from ski patrol, grooming department, snowmaking department, resort ambassadors, lift maintenance personnel and the Carrabassett Valley Fire Department responded to the scene. In total, 54 people contributed to the evacuation of the lift.
Update on injuries:
Six people were treated for injuries and sent to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, Maine. A seventh person, who initially was cleared to leave the scene, was admitted later in the day. Today, Sugarloaf Mountain learned that an eighth guest, who was initially cleared to leave the scene, checked into Franklin Memorial Hospital.
Three patients were transported from Franklin Memorial Hospital to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Due to patient and family confidentiality regulations, Sugarloaf cannot release information regarding the identity or nature of injuries to individuals. Further updates on the conditions of those injured can be obtained by contacting the hospitals.
Three guests who were unhurt requested to be transported to the base of the mountain after they were evacuated from the lift. One was taken via toboggan and two were taken inside a heated snow grooming tractor.
Status of the Spillway East Chairlift:
The State of Maine Elevator and Tramway Board has noted that there was some damage to lift components due to the deropement. All mechanical components remained in place after the incident and those components are currently being removed and will be analyzed further. The resort plans to replace the damaged parts with new equipment and go through safety testing and inspections prior to reopening the lift to the public.
Other lifts at Sugarloaf continue normal operations.
“Sugarloaf Mountain wishes the best for the people injured in the accident,” said Austin. “The resort remains committed to guest safety and its culture of safety instilled in every employee.”
Shocking that the State of Maine would find wind as the primary factor in the accident with that description of events from the ski area.
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Posted 29 December 2010 - 02:31 PM
Skier, on 29 December 2010 - 01:52 PM, said:
Latest statement from Sugarloaf:
Shocking that the State of Maine would find wind as the primary factor in the accident with that description of events from the ski area.
Shocking that the State of Maine would find wind as the primary factor in the accident with that description of events from the ski area.
It said that wind contributed to the factor, READ... Some of you 20 somthings should learn a litte about lifts. Just my 2cent. As a 30+ year mechanic I can see how all this took place.
What now?
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Posted 29 December 2010 - 04:12 PM
towertop, on 29 December 2010 - 02:31 PM, said:
It said that wind contributed to the factor, READ... Some of you 20 somthings should learn a litte about lifts. Just my 2cent. As a 30+ year mechanic I can see how all this took place.
I did read, but I read more than just Sugarloaf's press release. The Sugarloaf statement said "contributing factor" but I was referring to a local news article about the state's preliminary report, entitled "Wind gust derailed ski lift, state report says." They quote the report as saying "the primary cause of [Tuesday's chairlift] derailment was due to gusts of high-speed winds." Since I have not seen the report, I can only go off of third party articles. The Sugarloaf statement is obviously more cautious than the local news one but they are supposedly both referring to the same state report and WCSH actually quotes the report.
http://www.wcsh6.com...=142364&catid=2
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Posted 29 December 2010 - 04:33 PM
"Doug Dunbar, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, says the state inspectors are still in the information gathering phase and have not issued preliminary reports or findings. Dunbar says the inspectors believe the wind played a contributing role in the accident, but they are continuing to investigate all potential factors."
It reads to me that the Resort is saying "Primary" and the State is saying "contributing". Big difference.
Dino
Sugarloaf officials say after meeting with the State of Maine Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety, they believe "the primary cause of [Tuesday's chairlift] derailment was due to gusts of high-speed winds".
It reads to me that the Resort is saying "Primary" and the State is saying "contributing". Big difference.
Dino
Sugarloaf officials say after meeting with the State of Maine Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety, they believe "the primary cause of [Tuesday's chairlift] derailment was due to gusts of high-speed winds".
This post has been edited by Lift Dinosaur: 29 December 2010 - 04:35 PM
"Things turn out best for the people that make the best of the way things turn out." A.L.
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Posted 29 December 2010 - 05:24 PM
Lift Dinosaur, on 29 December 2010 - 04:33 PM, said:
"Doug Dunbar, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, says the state inspectors are still in the information gathering phase and have not issued preliminary reports or findings. Dunbar says the inspectors believe the wind played a contributing role in the accident, but they are continuing to investigate all potential factors."
It reads to me that the Resort is saying "Primary" and the State is saying "contributing". Big difference.
Dino
Sugarloaf officials say after meeting with the State of Maine Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety, they believe "the primary cause of [Tuesday's chairlift] derailment was due to gusts of high-speed winds".
It reads to me that the Resort is saying "Primary" and the State is saying "contributing". Big difference.
Dino
Sugarloaf officials say after meeting with the State of Maine Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety, they believe "the primary cause of [Tuesday's chairlift] derailment was due to gusts of high-speed winds".
You're right, that is an important distinction that I missed. So it seems there have been no preliminary findings by the state after all, despite dozens of reports to the contrary in the media.
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Posted 30 December 2010 - 09:04 AM
I spend a lot of time working on a Borvig double double. Those lifts are rock solid. One media report said a "pulley" bent and fell to the ground. If you have ever changed a liner on a Borvig like that you know they just don't "bend". There is nothing to really bend except the outer flanges which can't be more than 1/4 above the liner. I've never seen one bent. The rope rolls on the liner if a chair swings. It won't bend even in lateral winds. Also sheaves, just don't fall to the ground. If that's what happened while the lift was running, good luck. The safety factor of ski lifts are insane. Bulletproof. In high winds you shut down, common practice. Even in the highest winds I have ever seen, I do not believe a lift would ever derail. Dangerous yes, but mechanically sound. Those chairs would smack towers before a rope would derail. By then any supervisor with 5% brain mass would shut down. It must be a slow media week. Lets see what we can blow out of proportion. Trying to re-rail a rope with people on chairs is a bad idea if that is indeed what happened. Too much to go wrong especially is high winds.
Cheers.
Cheers.
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Posted 30 December 2010 - 09:57 AM
bezerk1, on 30 December 2010 - 09:04 AM, said:
I spend a lot of time working on a Borvig double double. Those lifts are rock solid. One media report said a "pulley" bent and fell to the ground. If you have ever changed a liner on a Borvig like that you know they just don't "bend". There is nothing to really bend except the outer flanges which can't be more than 1/4 above the liner. I've never seen one bent. The rope rolls on the liner if a chair swings. It won't bend even in lateral winds. Also sheaves, just don't fall to the ground. If that's what happened while the lift was running, good luck. The safety factor of ski lifts are insane. Bulletproof. In high winds you shut down, common practice. Even in the highest winds I have ever seen, I do not believe a lift would ever derail. Dangerous yes, but mechanically sound. Those chairs would smack towers before a rope would derail. By then any supervisor with 5% brain mass would shut down. It must be a slow media week. Lets see what we can blow out of proportion. Trying to re-rail a rope with people on chairs is a bad idea if that is indeed what happened. Too much to go wrong especially is high winds.
Cheers.
Cheers.
I didn't read: "bent pulley", though the inappropriate word "pulley" was mentioned. I gathered that it was some other assembly element that bent. All of this, of course, is based on the eyewitness accounts of technically-illiterate people.
Being a Borvig fan, your defensiveness is understandable. My limited exposure to Borvig machinery is not quite so rosy - but no matter. You're right about media garbage though - at this point, not very much is known about this incident. Hopefully, the "out-of-town-expert-consultants" will discover the facts.
This post has been edited by Emax: 30 December 2010 - 10:01 AM
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
#20
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- Industry II
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New User
Posted 30 December 2010 - 06:34 PM
Wondering how much experience the tech on the tower had?
Emax, on 30 December 2010 - 09:57 AM, said:
I didn't read: "bent pulley", though the inappropriate word "pulley" was mentioned. I gathered that it was some other assembly element that bent. All of this, of course, is based on the eyewitness accounts of technically-illiterate people.
Being a Borvig fan, your defensiveness is understandable. My limited exposure to Borvig machinery is not quite so rosy - but no matter. You're right about media garbage though - at this point, not very much is known about this incident. Hopefully, the "out-of-town-expert-consultants" will discover the facts.
Being a Borvig fan, your defensiveness is understandable. My limited exposure to Borvig machinery is not quite so rosy - but no matter. You're right about media garbage though - at this point, not very much is known about this incident. Hopefully, the "out-of-town-expert-consultants" will discover the facts.
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