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Sugarloaf Lift accident?

post #1 of 44
12/28/10 at 8:37am
Thread Starter 

Looks like a newsflash.... don't know anything other than a headline stating there are injuries.

 

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/28/skiers-fall-from-chairlift-at-maine-resort/ 

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post #2 of 44
12/28/10 at 8:45am

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/breakingnews/CNN-Lift-accident-at-Sugarloaf.html?cmpid=breaking-news-box

 

Sounds like this could be bad... the wrong time of year for this for sure, crowded slopes and full liftlines.

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post #3 of 44
12/28/10 at 8:49am

CNN is covering with folks on cell phones still on lifts.  They are showing 23/25mpg sustained winds......  so far , no reported deaths (thank God) cold day to sit on a lift for a couple of hours....

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post #4 of 44
12/28/10 at 8:50am

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/28/skiers-fall-from-chairlift-at-maine-resort/

 

CNN update on it.  Sounds like a few people fell, and a whole bunch more are stuck.

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post #5 of 44
12/28/10 at 9:06am

Rescue underway after ski lift derails in Maine . Ski patrol evacuates lift at Sugarloaf Mountain.

Just heard about this on the news.  No details yet

 

 

Quote:

CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine -- Officials at a Maine ski area report that there are about eight injuries in an accident on a chair lift.

Sugarloaf spokesman Ethan Austin told The Associated Press that Tuesday's accident was "a big deal." He says one of the ski lifts derailed and five chairs came down.

The resort says on its Facebook page that most of the injuries appear to be minor. Austin says the ski patrol is evacuating the lift.

A spokeswoman for Franklin Memorial Hospital about 45 minutes away in Farmington says at least two injured people are en route by ambulance.

Gray says it's possible more injured people could arrive because it's the closest hospital.

(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
 
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post #6 of 44
12/28/10 at 9:08am

Here's another link.

 

http://www.mpbn.net/News/MPBNNewsforVillageSoup/tabid/1144/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3695/ItemId/14647/Default.aspx

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post #7 of 44
12/28/10 at 9:09am

D1 u2 OK ?

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post #8 of 44
12/28/10 at 9:21am

Is it just me or are there an abnormal amount of chair lift/ski related issues this season??

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post #9 of 44
12/28/10 at 9:25am

This is not good.  I hope the chairs on the ground made a slow descent.

 

166409_575692350909_15801450_33671262_1209414_n.jpg

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post #10 of 44
12/28/10 at 9:33am


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by catskills View Post

This is not good.  I hope the chairs on the ground made a slow descent.

 

166409_575692350909_15801450_33671262_1209414_n.jpg

 

What a photo. How would you like to be riding up that other lift watching that??? eek.gif
 

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post #11 of 44
12/28/10 at 9:48am

deliberate1 and his family are there now, as I'm sure are other bears.  I hope they're OK.

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post #12 of 44
12/28/10 at 9:53am

Looks like the Spillway Chair East is the one that fell....an old, long and slow fixed grip w/ killer terrain.

Spillway West is the one to the right that's running.

Hope there are no serious injuries.

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post #13 of 44
12/28/10 at 9:56am

Picture from TGR.  Note chairs ON THE GROUND.attachment.php?attachmentid=87730&stc=1&d=1293554963

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post #14 of 44
12/28/10 at 10:20am

bad tragedy in Maine

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/several-injured-lift-maine-resort-derails-sends-skiers-20101228-092947-345.html

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post #15 of 44
12/28/10 at 10:26am

Skiing in Maine is stupid. Don't they know it's supposed to be a chairLIFT not a chairDRAG ????

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post #16 of 44
12/28/10 at 10:28am

It's been reclassified as a surface lift i think.

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post #17 of 44
12/28/10 at 10:33am

So it's a Bad Tragedy in Maine... Is there a GOOD Tragedy?

 

 

We've got chairlifts rolling backward, chairlifts falling down, skiers skiing too fast in the woods with helmet-cam footage to show it, reckless riders killing children who have been taken onto trails above their ability by parents who should know better, men punching little girls in the face...

 

it's a good time of year to stay home alone with a tinfoil hat and bubble wrap. That's how I get through the holidays.

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post #18 of 44
12/28/10 at 10:44am

now here I have to say that putting a lift on windhold is always an unpopular call and that high wind and gusts can surge unexpectedly. unlike some of the other events we've talked about, this is an act of nature and can happen anytime anywhere. 

 

WR is right. I always feel less centered and safe on crowded holiday ski days, as if all reason and control had vanished. maybe it's OK to buy the midweek pass. keeps me away from every really crowded day of the year.

 

what does the tinfoil do? connect you to positive ions ? I may make one today, safe pastime.

 

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post #19 of 44
12/28/10 at 10:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Whiteroom View Post

So it's a Bad Tragedy in Maine... Is there a GOOD Tragedy?

 

 

We've got chairlifts rolling backward, chairlifts falling down, skiers skiing too fast in the woods with helmet-cam footage to show it, reckless riders killing children who have been taken onto trails above their ability by parents who should know better, men punching little girls in the face...

 

it's a good time of year to stay home alone with a tinfoil hat and bubble wrap. That's how I get through the holidays.

 

Thanks for the chuckle. Yea its a messed up time of year.

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post #20 of 44
12/28/10 at 10:52am

the lift running on the looker's right does not have any chairs blowing at a bad angle.that we can see.  winds may have been gusty.

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post #21 of 44
12/28/10 at 10:55am

just saw a piece on cnn on how someone can electronically pick pocket people. small device that steals cc numbers and expiration dates using the RFID chips.  They suggest putting your cc's in tinfoil.

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post #22 of 44
12/28/10 at 11:00am

.lift-thumb-608x363-29395.jpg

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post #23 of 44
12/28/10 at 12:08pm

Looks like they had a decent layer of fresh and fluffy powder bumps to land on.  Could have been worse I suspect.  Winds were said to be 40 mph.  That seems within what is usually safe operating limits.  Either the gusts were much higher or something else went wrong.

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post #24 of 44
12/28/10 at 12:17pm

I heard an eyewitness (3 or 4 chairs back from the ones that fell) and it was not windy on that chair at that time.  That chair only goes part way up the mountain.

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post #25 of 44
12/28/10 at 12:25pm

was reported on cnn that a tech was working on the lift shortly before the incident. Still no word on injuries?

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post #26 of 44
12/28/10 at 12:30pm

I always wondered why there is not a double set of rollers under and over the cable on many lifts. I realize that weight alone is enough to usually keep it on track - but why not for extra safety?

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post #27 of 44
12/28/10 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkiMangoJazz View Post

I heard an eyewitness (3 or 4 chairs back from the ones that fell) and it was not windy on that chair at that time.  That chair only goes part way up the mountain.



These two lifts, scheduled to be replaced next summer I believe, run parallel to each other, then the one on the left, spillway east, goes to the top where it is very exposed, it was on wind hold earlier in the morning. My daughter is in the CVA race program, fortunately she was training elsewhere at the time, though at Sugarloaf. She said it was "pretty bad". I was a bit worried when I first heard the news and called a friend that volunteers as a host he was on scene helping the patrol and lending moral support.....he called me to say that none of the racing groups were on the lift at the time....latest from him is that 1 person has been taken to a Portland hospital, the rest are being treated in Farmington....

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post #28 of 44
12/28/10 at 1:04pm

It was a fairly old lift, fixed grip double from I believe 1975, not sure whether newer lifts have more safety measures or not, probably do.

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post #29 of 44
12/28/10 at 1:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by entropy View Post



Quote:
Originally Posted by SkiMangoJazz View Post

I heard an eyewitness (3 or 4 chairs back from the ones that fell) and it was not windy on that chair at that time.  That chair only goes part way up the mountain.



These two lifts, scheduled to be replaced next summer I believe, run parallel to each other, then the one on the left, spillway east, goes to the top where it is very exposed, it was on wind hold earlier in the morning. My daughter is in the CVA race program, fortunately she was training elsewhere at the time, though at Sugarloaf. She said it was "pretty bad". I was a bit worried when I first heard the news and called a friend that volunteers as a host he was on scene helping the patrol and lending moral support.....he called me to say that none of the racing groups were on the lift at the time....latest from him is that 1 person has been taken to a Portland hospital, the rest are being treated in Farmington....


My bad, I had the two Spillway chairs mixed up.

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post #30 of 44
12/28/10 at 1:39pm

This from the Sugarloaf Facebook page:

 

 

Quote:
 

Hi, folks –

 

You’ve almost certainly heard about the Spillway East lift accident today.  First, you should know that that we’re deeply concerned for the six people who were hurt and pray for their rapid recovery.  We’re in touch with the families and working closely with them.

 

Next: we’re investigating what caused the accident, and we’re doing that in conjunction with state inspectors and other agencies.  Your safety is even more important to us than your enjoyment of our mountain, and we’re doing our best to figure out what happened and will do everything humanly possible to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.

 

Now, about the temporary block of our Facebook page:  please understand that our intent is NOT to stifle discussion or dodge your questions.  Today’s incident rapidly became a worldwide story and we’re still dealing with the media onslaught.  So we’re working with the families of the people who were hurt, dealing with the media, and still running a ski area (yes, we’re still operating).  Keeping tabs on the Facebook page and making sure that rumors and speculation don’t spread would’ve been too much.

 

So here’s the deal going forward.  We’ll keep you posted to the best of our ability.  This is where you can come for official information.  Please bear three things in mind: 

 

1)      We’ll release any additional information when we know it.  We probably won’t answer questions – not because we don’t want to, but because we don’t know.

2)      Speculating or trafficking in rumors won’t help anyone.  Please refrain from doing so here.

3)      If you hear something and it didn’t come from us, it’s almost certainly a rumor.

 

Everyone cool with that?  Thanks.  Thanks also for all your good wishes – and special thanks to the mountain ops and patrol people, who did an amazing job today. 

 

 
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