Incidents & Accidents

Province Orders Mont-Sainte-Anne Closed Again

Peter Landsman17 Comments

There’s plenty of snow in Québec but those wishing to ski Mont-Sainte-Anne this weekend will need to do so under their own power. The province issued an order Friday night prohibiting the major ski area near Québec City from operating any of its four detachable lifts, citing recent electrical problems and deficiencies discovered in a recent inspection. Québec’s ropeway regulator issued a similar order in December 2022 following a series of high-profile incidents. In February 2020, the mountain’s gondola suffered an abrupt stop, injuring more than a dozen passengers. A less serious incident occurred a month later, which combined with Covid, closed the gondola for more than a year. In December 2022 a cabin fell from the same gondola, a mishap later blamed on human error. The Québec building authority ordered five lifts shut down, causing the entire ski area to temporarily cease operations in the middle of winter.

This time Québec ordered three detachable quads and the gondola closed, effectively shuttering the resort. Inoperable lifts include a 1986 Doppelmayr quad, a 1987 Doppelmayr quad, a 2013 Doppelmayr quad and a 1989 Doppelmayr gondola. Mont-Sainte-Anne has yet to open this season, citing damage from a November 28th power outage. Repairs had been completed and the resort was set to reopen Saturday until the order came down at 6:09 pm Friday evening. “The Régie du Bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) has ordered the closure of the aerial ski lifts at the Mont-Sainte-Anne ski resort,” the province said in a press release. “This order, served today on the operator, follows inspections carried out on Wednesday, December 10, in connection with a failure on the 25,000-volt high-voltage network that powers the buildings, ski lifts, and snowmaking system…The results of the inspection showed that the break affecting an underground section of the electrical network prevented the normal and safe operation of the equipment covered by the order, which constitutes a danger to the safety and physical integrity of people,” said the release. “Furthermore, the seriousness of the shortcomings observed in recent years creates an emergency situation that requires the RBQ to intervene without delay in order to prevent irreparable harm to the public.” The order noted Mont-Sainte-Anne and owner Resorts of the Canadian Rockies were notified not to operate lifts more than a week ago on December 5th. It also alleged the mountain has suffered recurring electrical problems for more than 10 years that are believed have contributed to the gondola incidents in 2020.

“As a reminder, ski resort operators are primarily responsible for the safety of their customers,” said Stéphane Petit, Vice President of Inspection at the RBQ. “Our priority remains public safety. The resumption of activities will depend on the pace at which Mont-Sainte-Anne complies with the requirements of the order.” Proposed remedies include testing of service and emergency brake systems, demonstration of functioning communications systems and a written evacuation plan in the event of a power failure. “We wish to clarify that we will fully comply with this order and that we will cooperate in all the upcoming steps, which will begin early next week,” the mountain said to customers. “While we are naturally disappointed not to be able to launch our winter season, snowmaking continues actively on the north and south facing slopes.” The mountain plans to open its conveyor lifts, restaurants and retail shop this weekend and welcomed the public to ski tour with purchase of an uphill ticket. It also invited season passholders to go cross country skiing or visit nearby Stoneham, also operated by RCR.

This is the latest setback in a long saga for one of Québec’s largest resorts. Mont-Sainte-Anne operates on public land via a long-term lease and many have called for the province to revoke its agreement with Resorts of the Canadian Rockies due to incidents and lack of investment. However last December the province opted instead to inject CA$50 million into the resort in partnership with RCR. Nearly a year later, the deal still has not been signed.

Report Sheds Light on December Chair Collision at Heavenly

Peter Landsman37 Comments
Photo credt: TGIFaanes via Reddit

We now know more about what happened on the Comet Express at Heavenly in December when two chairs collided, injuring six people. The Forest Service recently completed an Incident Review Report which I obtained via a public records request.

Comet Express is the oldest detachable chairlift at Heavenly and was constructed by Doppelmayr in 1988. At roughly 9:45 am on December 23rd, a DS103 grip failed to close completely but did not trigger any safety switches when leaving the bottom terminal. The chair, number 66, reached tower 2 before sliding backward into the chair behind it, number 67. Three of the four adults on the slipping chair were ejected and fell approximately 24 feet to the snow below. The fourth passenger jumped from the chair. On the chair that was hit, one teenaged male rider fell and another teen remained pinned between the chairs. The lift was eventually run in reverse to unload him. It is unknown if passengers on chair 66 had lowered the restraint bar but the bar was down on chair 67. Remaining passengers on the lift were unloaded safely without the need for a rope evacuation. A total of six people were injured, five of whom were transported to area hospitals. At least one person was airlifted by helicopter to Reno.

Heavenly Mountain Resort promptly contacted the Forest Service as required following a serious lift incident in a National Forest. Representatives from the USFS, Doppelmayr and Vail Resorts collaborated to review the incident over the following days. “[Heavenly Mountain Resort] was able to take corrective steps and develop a DS-103 Grip Quality Assurance plan to correct the causes leading to the grip failure and provide additional standard operating procedures to reduce future incidents on other HMR ropeways with similar euqipment,” the Forest Service wrote. The resort and Forest Service also “discussed the importance of compliance with Service Bulletins issued by Manufacturers and written documents verifying compliance.” Comet Express was cleared to reopen on December 29th and returned to service the following day.

The Forest Service noted “the purpose of an incident review is not to determine fault or liability” and said it does not conduct investigations. Ski areas generally conduct internal investigations of incidents but it is not standard to submit those to the Forest Service. Vail Resorts has not released details of the curcumstances publicly other than confirming an incident occurred. Though Heavenly operates lifts in both California and Nevada, this incident occurred in Nevada where there is no tramway board to conduct a state investigation.

“We recognize the significance of the incident on Comet Express and offer our sympathy and support to everyone involved,” said Shaydar Edelmann, Heavenly Vice President and General Manager in a statement. “While chairlift incidents like this are extremely rare, we are constantly working to ensure the safety of our employees and our guests on all chairlifts at the resort,” he continued. “In this instance, we identified the cause and worked with the U.S. Forest Service and lift manufacturer to resolve the issue and safely reopen Comet chair. I am grateful to those partners who assisted us throughout the incident, and to our team members who responded quickly and professionally. Safety is our top priority, and we are committed to providing an excellent guest experience at Heavenly.”

Red Lodge Mountain Confirms Deropement Caused Lift Rider’s Death

Peter Landsman4 Comments

An “unexpectedly strong wind gust” caused the Triple Chair at Red Lodge Mountain to derope on Monday, leading to the death of a guest, the resort confirmed this morning. Thirty seven year old Jeffrey Zinne of Billings was riding alone when he was thrown from the lift following the “unusually aggressive derailment.” Zinne died from his injuries early Wednesday morning. 135 other passengers were rope evacuated without incident. “On behalf of the Red Lodge Mountain team, we would like to send our most heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Zinne, and to everyone impacted by the tragedy that occurred on Monday,” the resort said in a statement.

“We are working in collaboration with the US Forest Service, the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office, and Iron Mountain Engineering, an independent professional lift inspector, to understand how this tragedy occurred,” Red Lodge Mountain said. The 42 year old CTEC Triple Chair did not have a restraint bar and this incident is sure to bring renewed scrutiny to the hundreds of lifts still operating without them throughout the west and midwest. In January 2023, a similar incident occurred at Park City Mountain when a ski patroller was thrown from a triple chair and killed when a tree fell on the line, causing the lift to violently de-rope. That chair did have a restraint bar but it is not known whether the patroller had it down. Even on lifts with bars, riders can still fall out, especially in the case of a violent deropement.

Although Red Lodge is a relatively small operation with an old school feel, the mountain is owned by San Francisco-based real estate investment firm JMA Ventures. JMA also operates Homewood Mountain Resort in Lake Tahoe along with numerous hotels, apartment complexes and mixed-use developments.

“Chairlift safety is a top priority, and something we take incredibly seriously,” Red Lodge said. “Until the lift assessment is complete, the lift is repaired, tested and evaluated again by inspectors and regulatory agencies, it will remain closed. Currently, there is no estimate as to when the Triple Chair will reopen.” The resort added the Willow Creek chair is also closed for maintenance. “We are optimistic that [Willow Creek] will reopen soon, however once maintenance has been completed, it will also undergo a full inspection before reopening as part of our standard operating procedure,” Red Lodge wrote. Two other lifts – Cole Creek and Grizzly Peak, have also remained closed since the accident. With limited terrain open, the resort has reduced ticket prices until further notice.

A GoFundMe has been set up to support Mr. Zinne’s wife, Meghan, and their two year old child. The family would also like to spread awareness about organ donation. “Jeff spent his final moments donating his precious organs,” the family wrote.

One Dead in Lift Incident at Red Lodge Mountain

Peter Landsman63 Comments

A person was airlifted to a Montana hospital on today following an incident on the Triple Chair at Red Lodge Mountain. “Red Lodge Mountain Patrol Dispatch received a call at 11:51am regarding an incident that occurred with the Triple Chair,” the mountain said in a statement. “Patrol was on-scene of the incident at 11:53am,” the statement continued. “A patient was transported to the base area where the patient was loading into an emergency medical services ambulance at 12:23 pm.” A local TV station reported the person was later flown by helicopter from Red Lodge’s hospital to a larger one in Billings. The rest of the 135 passengers on the chairlift were evacuated by rope and the mountain was closed for the day.

It was windy today in south-central Montana and Red Lodge acknowledged the incident may have been wind-related. The resort posted on X at 8:45 am that all lifts would start the day on wind hold with gusts forecasted as high as 55 miles per hour. Three base area lifts, including the Triple Chair, began loading passengers at 9:30 am. After the incident a few hours later, Red Lodge Fire Rescue said strong winds prevented the patient from being airlifted directly from the ski area.

The Triple Chair was built by CTEC in 1983. It spans more than 5,000 feet from the base of the ski area with 195 chairs on the line. Owing to their age, the chairs do not have restraint bars. Red Lodge Mountain said the lift will remain closed while an investigation is completed. Unfortunately a parallel lift called Willow Creek has also been closed since February 23rd due to maintenance. That leaves just The Stache Express for out-of-base access.

Montana’s Board of Passenger Tramway Safety was disbanded in 1997 so there is unlikely to be any state investigation. Parts of Red Lodge Mountain are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service and the Triple Chair runs partially within the Custer Gallatin National Forest. In addition to oversight from the Forest Service, ski areas like Red Lodge are also typically inspected by their insurance company.

Update 3/11 6:30 pm: The Carbon County Sheriff’s office reports the victim of this incident, a 37 year old male from Billings, died today of his injuries. Local media reports he was thrown from the chair he was riding on the upper part of the lift line.

Gondola Falls From Kicking Horse’s Golden Eagle Express

Peter Landsman51 Comments

The gondola at Kicking Horse, British Columbia suffered a serious incident this morning when a hanger snapped, causing a cabin with eight riders to fall to the ground. Thankfully the fully loaded carrier had just departed the bottom station and was approximately one meter off the ground. There were no serious injuries among affected passengers. Crews worked for hours to evacuate guests from the rest of the lift by rope and helicopter. It was a powder day with 23 centimeters falling in the previous 24 hours and the lift was reportedly quite full at the time of the incident.

“At 9:20 am, an incident occurred involving a cabin at the base terminal of Golden Eagle Express gondola,” a statement from the resort read. “Our patrol team and first responders were rapidly dispatched on scene,” the statement continued. “Our trained maintenance team will be working to unload the passengers as per standard operating procedures. A full inspection has been initiated to determinate and analyze root causes. Teams from the manufacturer and relevant authorities have been called in to further assist. No lifts will be open to the public today, the resort will be closed for the remainder of the day. Please note Golden Eagle Express gondola will remain closed until further notice. An update will be provided later today with regards to regular operations.”

Photo credit: Justin Baun

The Golden Eagle Express was constructed by Leitner-Poma in 2000 and is a workhorse, operating daily in both winter and summer as well as nights. It’s one of the longest and tallest gondolas in North America with 55 cabins carrying skiers more than 3,500 vertical feet. Without the gondola, approximately 70 percent of the mountain cannot be accessed.

Technical Safety BC oversees passenger ropeways in the province and will conduct an inspection and investigation before the lift can be re-opened.

Update 8:00 pm: Kicking Horse reported all guests were safely evacuated from the lift by rope and helicopter by late in the day. “Our sincere apologies go out to every one of our guests who have had to go through this experience today, and we thank them all for their patience and understanding” said Richard Oszust, Area Manager. Kicking Horse will reopen the lower mountain tomorrow, serviced by the Catamount and Pioneer chairlifts. The gondola and upper mountain will remain closed until further notice.

Chair Falls from Lift at Attitash

Peter Landsman90 Comments
Photo credit: David G. via X.

A quad chair detached mid-line on Attitash’s Flying Bear lift this afternoon, injuring one person. A photo posted to the Ski the East Facebook page showed the chair and skier fell around tower 6 and he was conscious before being taken down the mountain in a toboggan. A Carroll County scanner alerts Facebook page reported the 49 year old male was transported by ambulance with a lower back injury. Attitash’s lift status page showed the lift closed for the day. In a late afternoon statement, Attitash General Manager Brandon Swartz said “We can confirm an incident occurred on our Flying Bear chairlift today, Sunday, February 2, 2025. The safety of our guests is our top priority, and we are investigating the incident.” Attitash acknowledged one patient was transported to Memorial Hospital in Conway.

Photo credit: Erik Hanson via Facebook

Flying Bear is a Doppelmayr detachable quad constructed in 1995 and features DT-104 model grips. It runs nearly a mile with 82 chairs and 17 towers. In early December, Vail announced Attitash would share one general manager and an operations manager with Wildcat, a sister resort located 17 miles away which historically had its own GM. Attitash has been looking to hire experienced lift mechanic(s) since at least early January.

This is the latest mishap in a difficult season for Vail Resorts. On December 23rd, five people were hospitalized when two chairs collided at Heavenly. Four days later, the Park City ski patrol went on strike, causing major disruptions there over the holidays. Patrollers returned to work 12 days later and Vail offered guests 50 percent credits for next season as an apology. More recently, a number of lifts have suffered extended down time at Whistler Blackcomb, Wildcat, Seven Springs, Mount Snow, Keystone and Park City.

Bullwheel Failure Injures 15 in Spain

Peter Landsman28 Comments
Photo credit: Meteosojuela La Rioja via X

The top bullwheel detached from a chairlift in Spain this morning, injuring more than 15 people. The incident happened at Astún, a resort with 15 lifts located in the Pyrenees. Without a bullwheel retention device, the bullwheel came to rest vertically and the lift rapidly lost tension, causing chairs to contact the ground along the line. The lift de-roped on numerous towers and chairs could be seen mangled with an evacuation underway. The government said three people were seriously injured with helicopters shuttling people to hospitals. Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, posted on X that he was “shocked by the news of the accident at the Astún station” and offered full support to local authorities and the victims.

Photo credit: Meteosojuela La Rioja via X

The lift that failed is a 1989 fixed grip quad called Canal Roya. It was constructed by Spanish manufacturer REAC, which does not have any installations in the United States or Canada.

The incident appears similar to the 1985 Teller lift accident at Keystone, which killed two people and seriously injured 49. That lift was constructed by Yan and an investigation revealed a faulty weld caused the top bullwheel to detach.

Chairs Collide on Comet Express at Heavenly

Peter Landsman55 Comments
Photo credt: TGIFaanes via Reddit

A lift incident occurred on the Comet Express at Heavenly this morning, injuring five people. Two quad chairs could be seen stacked together near the base of the lift with several guests on the ground below being assisted by ski patrol and one guest pinned between the chairs. “Chair slid backwards with people on it into the chair behind it,” wrote a witness on Reddit. “The people in the front chair fell off,” the person said. The lift was closed for the day and remains closed. “Heavenly Mountain Resort can confirm an incident occurred on its Comet Express chairlift today, Monday, December 23, 2024,” the resort said in a statement. “The safety of our guests is our top priority and the resort is investigating the incident.” A flight tracking website showed a medevac helicopter landed in one of Heavenly’s parking lots before continuing to a Reno hospital.

Comet Express was built by Doppelmayr and opened in 1988. It is the oldest detachable lift at Heavenly and features DS series grips.

Photo credit: xamfed via Reddit

Winter Park Gondola Closed Following Incident

Peter Landsman55 Comments

A tower component failed on The Gondola at Winter Park Resort today, leading to a five hour rope evacuation. Photos show a rocker arm that connects two sections of a 16 sheave assembly cracked nearly in half. The affected assembly is located on tower 1 and holds the haul rope down on the heavy side of the lift, adjacent to the bottom terminal. A total of 174 guests were roped down by ski patrol, concluding at 6:00 pm. “At 12:15pm on December 21, 2024, the Gondola had a mechanical issue and immediately shut down as the system is designed to do so for guest safety,” said Winter Park in a statement. “At this time the Gondola is closed for repair and further inspection. All guests were safely evacuated thanks to our Patrol team.”

Leitner-Poma constructed The Gondola in 2018, providing a high capacity link between the Village at Winter Park and Sunspot. The lift is a workhorse, operating both day and night throughout the year. Each of the system’s 75 cabins can carry up to 10 passengers.

Stock photo of tower 1 prior to this incident.

“A replacement part and crane have arrived, and repairs are underway,” Winter Park said on 12/22. “Once the repair is complete, the Colorado Tramway Safety Board will complete a thorough inspection process. Once we have approval from the Tram Board we will be able to re-open the Gondola. We do not currently have a timeframe for when that will be but are working to complete the repair and inspection as soon as possible while prioritizing the safety and wellbeing of our guests.” Both Arrow and Gemini also provide access out of the Village.

Chair Falls From Lift at Montana Snowbowl

Peter Landsman28 Comments

A chair fell in the LaVelle double chair’s loading area at Montana Snowbowl Sunday, the resort’s third day of operations for the season. “Earlier today, an incident occurred on LaValle chairlift that required us to temporarily halt lift service,” Montana Snowbowl said in a statement posted to Facebook. “We are grateful to report that no injuries occurred. Our maintenance department was able to inspect the lift and ensure it was safe to operate. LaVelle was then reopened to the public for the remainder of the afternoon.”

LaVelle Creek is a 1984 Riblet double. The incident is the latest in a string of unfortunate mishaps involing Riblet lifts at Snowbowl. In March of 2023, a Riblet chair hit a tower and broke apart on the TV Mountain lift, causing a child to fall. The Forest Service sent a notice of noncompliance to the resort, preventing the lift from operating until it was repaired for the following season. Prior to that incident, the Grizzly lift was rope evacuated due to a power outage in February 2021. Another chair fell from the LaVelle lift in January 2020, requiring a rope evacuation.

Snowbowl plans to close midweek this week and reopen on Friday, December 20th.

Update: Montana Snowbowl issued a second statement on Monday clarifying why the chair detached from the haul rope: “Yesterday, an empty chair collided with a lift operator, causing it to swing abnormally and subsequently become dislodged. This was a highly unusual and isolated incident. No one was injured, and the lift was thoroughly inspected and confirmed safe before resuming operations later that day.”