SallyCat

That's what I've been saying and why I brought up the Granby Ranch accident. People keep saying it's not relevant because those victims fell but the chair did not. But witnesses said the CBK chair was swaying and bouncing, and the guy interviewed on WFMZ actually said the chair went nearly vertical and then the passengers fell off right before the chair fell. People who were there that day commented on the weird bouncing and swaying prior to the accident. My point was just that there seems to be some sort of surge or dynamic aberrance that the two accidents have in common. That doesn't explain why the CBK chair detached of course, but it does indicate that there was something significantly wrong not just with the chair but with the larger operating system.

The similarity I was pointing out was the surging drive, which caused bounce/sway and led to the accident. And that in some cases it seems that lift operators can in fact execute stops/starts from speed and at intervals that they normally shouldn't be able to do.

"Recent changes to a control system and rapid speed changes made by an operator led a Texas mother and her two young girls to be thrown about 25 feet off a Ski Granby Ranch chairlift in December 2016, state investigators said in a final report on the incident." https://www.denverpost.com/2017/05/11/ski-granby-ranch-ski-lift-death-final-report/

True, though a part failure that was setting off alarms and/or causing aberrant cable behavior and was ignored would be negligent. A lift operator making hard stops and fast starts too close together would be actionable. I don't mean that I want someone to take blame no matter what, just that there could certainly be negligence, or a combination of mechanical failure and negligence. Like everyone else I hope the final investigation provides clarity.

Yes, but it was a high-speed detachable, and the cause of the fall was massive swaying that caused the chair to hit the tower. Again, just speculating.

Obviously this is said with more curiosity than knowledge of lift mechanics, but it kind of reminds me of the Granby Ranch accident a few years ago in Colorado. It's the sudden stops and starts and (perhaps) consequent swaying that prompted the connection. It makes me think there could be more to it than random chance. Maybe. Was a liftie hitting hard stops and too-soon starts? Was there a fault in the motor that created the cable dynamic? I guess I'm curious because I find it more palatable/comfortable to think that there was a flaw or fault that could be corrected rather than it being just a crapshoot with pretty good odds unless it's not your day.

Since I've started working in EMS and also know a lot of patrollers I've been shocked at how many unreported deaths occur at resorts. It's not like it's a massive number, it's just more than you would think. There was one at Stowe this season that got some media attention, but the one at Okemo at around the same time got radio silence. I guess with HIPPA and everything it's pretty easy for a resort to keep that stuff quiet. But a lift failure isn't a confidentiality issue and it's pretty significant news, plus there were witnesses with cameras, so I'm really surprised that there's not been reporting on it, not just locally but in ski/ride media.

True. I think? that detachables have a back-up device that is supposed to keep it from falling if the main spring thingy fails so while fails happen, two pretty big ones had to happen at once for the chair to come off. I guess it's good that it's notable for being rare. A friend who was on the lift about 30 min prior said it was bouncing and swaying at that same spot. Not sure what to make of that.

Ski season up here took its time arriving then dumped four feet on us all at once and it was so much snow you couldn't move the first day. For a few days all the backcountry rock stars from up around Stowe were down here in little ol' Brownsville because Ascutney got hammer-slammered with powder in a storm that didn't go much further north than White River Junction. You never saw so many Sprinter vans and Labrador retrievers in our parking lot. Then two weeks later it rained and washed ALL of that snow away and that's how Vermont winter rolls. Then February arrived and kept giving and giving and it was amazing. Nobody could stand the Epic-Pass lines at Okemo (even weekdays were nuts) so we did lots of AT skiing on Ascutney. I work 24-hour shifts and have way more days off than my friends, so I taught myself to snowboard. Got some snowshoes and earned my turns and bruised my tailbone. I can ride a T-bar on the board no problem but still can't figure out how to get off a chairlift without it looking like a disaster from an I Love Lucy episode. I'm drinking coffee this morning and waiting for the New Yorkers to go home so I can get in some springy-soft runs at Okemo this afternoon. Here are some random pics from this season: One day it was all glare ice on Ascutney after some rain, and we were all bummed not to be able to ski. Then around 3pm the guy who runs the groomer decided to make some passes, so we followed him around for a little sunset touring and fresh corduroy: N The community T-bar runs until 4pm weekends then it clears out fast. I had a firepit and a whole powdery mountain to myself lots of evenings. Skinning up near the top of Ascutney is great fun and the snow was unbelievable last month: I retired from teaching and work as an EMT for a fire department, so I drive a fire engine now. This is so much more fun than grading papers and I have five days off every week!

Come to Okemo on a weekend if you want to wait on 30-minute lines with 300 New Yorkers. Epic Pass resorts have been a cluster this year. Skip Stratton and go to Magic. Up north, don't forget Bolton Valley; underrated. I can't wait to see the thread on Salty trying to choose powder skis!

Okemo was a shit-show today. I arrived a little late and had to park insanely far away. Texted my friends who said the main chair and one other quad were down, no new trails were open, and they were doing more standing than skiing. I turned around and headed home, figuring to get a few skinning laps on Mt. Ascutney. Turns out backcountry skiing is a bear right now because the snow is like chest-deep and even though it's fluffy, it's hard to make any progress even on the steeper pitches. A four-foot powder dump that makes skiing nearly impossible is pretty on-brand for 2020, I'd say! Headed out to earn some turns tomorrow now that today's skiers have chopped it up.

The demographics of weekday skiing are weird this year. Usually it's 98% people over age 65 drinking coffee in the lodge for two hours then skiing a few runs and going home. Now there seem to be a lot more young, college-age people out. Still not a lift line all day, but a noticeable change in people. A friend thinks it's because older people can't be arsed to boot up in the car.

Still in Vermont, living on Mt. Ascutney and loving it! Props to Blue for a strong opening; I miss the night skiing and tailgating! Best wishes to you all for an awesome season at the True Mountain!

Cheers for a great season for us all! Glad to see Blue open! Got my first runs at Okemo this week. Great snow, though not many trails open. People generally behaving in lines, etc. A little more crowded than I expected mid-week. Got a new schedule where I work two days a week...SA-WEET! WINTER OF SALLYCAT!

It's been a lot of work setting up and getting started, but I like it. I don't have overnight dorm duty and I can "mute" kids who are being obnoxious, which really improves class for the other students. The kids on the whole seem to like it and so far they're doing great. But some have shitty family dynamics, which is why they were at a therapeutic boarding school to begin with, so long-term, online school isn't necessarily healthy for every student. Will be interesting to see how long we have to keep this up and how/if it changes what school looks like after it's all over.