Leitner-Poma to Install New Drive on Quickdraw at Granby Ranch Following Accident

Peter Landsman

Leitner-Poma wasn’t involved in recent work that likely caused last month’s fatal fall at Granby Ranch, but the original manufacturer of the lift will fix it.  Ten days after re-opening using only the lift’s diesel auxiliary, Granby Ranch has a plan to restore Quickdraw to full capacity with a new electronic drive.  In a statement issued today, The ski area acknowledged a third-party company modified the drive system over the summer, as I reported last week.  “Preliminary investigation has revealed that the issue that likely caused the incident was the independent contractor’s modification to the lift’s electrical drive/control system,” the release notes.  The third-party installed system only operated 13 days before a chair hit a tower Dec. 29th, killing 40-year old Kelly Huber of Texas and injuring her two daughters.

The Quickdraw lift at Granby Ranch seen last summer, when a third-party contractor installed a new electronic drive system.

Earlier today, Granby Ranch said Quickdraw would be closed today and tomorrow for additional testing, as ordered by the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board.  The area hopes to re-open again under diesel power in the next few days and Leitner-Poma will install the new electronic drive system in the near future.  The CPTSB will release its official report on the December incident in the coming months.

Update 1/21/17: A state spokesman says the CPTSB ordered the lift closed until further notice at an emergency meeting after reviewing “unusual/irregular conditions” observed while Quickdraw was operating with the diesel auxiliary.

11 thoughts on “Leitner-Poma to Install New Drive on Quickdraw at Granby Ranch Following Accident”

  1. Ryan's avatar Ryan January 20, 2017 / 11:19 pm

    The article from KUSA makes it sound like something happened while running on the Diesel drive and now the state tramway board is saying no more operation.

    http://www.9news.com/news/local/investigations/ski-chairlift-modification-likely-caused-womans-fatal-fall/389337867

    From the article:
    The lift was closed while state regulators investigated. The Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board allowed it to reopen on Jan. 10 but required that it be operated by a diesel engine rather than the electrical unit that is believed to have malfunctioned.

    The ski area shut it down again on Wednesday. According to Lee Rasizer, a spokesman for the state board, the decision was made after the lift experienced “unusual/irregular conditions.”

    At an emergency meeting Friday, the board ordered that the lift remain closed “until deemed safe.”

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    • Peter Landsman's avatar Peter Landsman January 21, 2017 / 7:10 am

      Thanks Ryan, I’ve added these developments to the bottom of my post.

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  2. Ryan's avatar Ryan January 21, 2017 / 6:38 pm

    Will the new drive require a new terminal?

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  3. Mike Turley's avatar Mike Turley January 22, 2017 / 10:37 am

    If the drive installed before the season passed load test and received license to operate what will be different about the drive being installed by LPOA ?

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  4. Mike Turley's avatar Mike Turley January 22, 2017 / 10:46 am

    If the lift was experiencing unusual/irregular conditions under diesel power then it would seem as if there are more problems than the drive installed prior to opening for the season ? Have the other Lietner lifts in North America been inspected to make sure this accident does not happen again ?

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  5. Ryan's avatar Ryan January 23, 2017 / 10:06 am

    And this morning- here’s the latest from another denver website:
    http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/mountains/granby-ranch-update-lift-involved-in-fatal-accident-closed-for-2-more-days

    So.. that news site is describing:

    Officials said the lift would be closed through Saturday, January 21 for testing. However, officials now say that testing will continue through Tuesday.

    the lift was closed on Wednesday, January 18 after what Granby Ranch called, “unusual/irregular conditions in the performance of the diesel prime mover system.”

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