# Terrifying Chairlift Rollback in Georgia.



## BoardieK (Dec 21, 2015)

Very Scary - some serious injuries.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

OMFG! That is one of the scariest things I have seen at a ski area. The people who chose not to jump off before the wheel... Damn.


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## MrDavey2Shoes (Mar 5, 2018)

wow, that's crazy


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

I will never mount a chairlift with an easy feeling again
:surprise::surprise::surprise:


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Imagine those would happen with gondolas...


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## BoardieK (Dec 21, 2015)

neni said:


> Imagine those would happen with gondolas...


Did you have to!


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

neni said:


> Imagine those would happen with gondolas...


I have seen it with chairlifts more than once. This is one of the worst examples I have seen. I suppose it could happen with a Gondola, but I suspect the mechanics are much more robust with those. At least I hope so, because I am probably riding one this weekend...


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## SlvrDragon50 (Mar 25, 2017)

Geez that's scary. Good to know that you need to bail ASAP when you get close to the ground... Would you unstrap your board?


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

killclimbz said:


> I have seen it with chairlifts more than once. This is one of the worst examples I have seen. I suppose it could happen with a Gondola, but I suspect the mechanics are much more robust with those. At least I hope so, because I am probably riding one this weekend...


Ur kidding...? This happens "more than once?!? How? Why? Also to chair lifts with transmission? 

Oh dear... earn your turns gets a whole new sexyness aspect.



SlvrDragon50 said:


> Geez that's scary. Good to know that you need to bail ASAP when you get close to the ground... Would you unstrap your board?


Yeah. Get rid of the board. Or, if you don't manage, jump out to land flat belly. Otherwise the board will land first and twist ur knee and what not. And you crawl/roll away quicker to make space for the next ones to jump off


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## SeattlePNW (Aug 14, 2017)

neni said:


> Imagine those would happen with gondolas...


There was a recent gondola collapse in Kashmir between India and Pakistan due to high winds something like that..

I see at least likely a torn rotator cuff when one hung on to the lift and flung off like a ragdoll.

Jesus....


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

neni said:


> Ur kidding...? This happens "more than once?!? How? Why? Also to chair lifts with transmission?
> 
> Oh dear... earn your turns gets a whole new sexyness aspect.


Definitely doesn't happen when you are skinning.

Sugarloaf had an incident. Some film after it was stopped.





and another




These were obviously much less worse than the Georgia accident. It looks like the exact scenario in this chairlift failure test.





Regardless, if you take notice, the people who jumped off the chair before it got to the bottom bullwheel looked relatively unscathed. Something to keep in mind if you ever find yourself going for this sort of ride.


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## cnk (Mar 6, 2018)

I'm asking because I don't know, but wouldn't you expect there to be some kind of emergency braking system that would prevent things like this? Unless that failed as well, which would really concern me.


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## ctoma (Aug 9, 2011)

killclimbz said:


> OMFG! That is one of the scariest things I have seen at a ski area. *The people who chose not to jump off before the wheel... Damn*.


Those were my thoughts are I watched it... wow, those people were flung around like rag dolls. As stated before, those who dropped before the bullwheel probably had a good scare and some minor bumps and bruises, but those who didn't jump off... holy hell...


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

cnk said:


> I'm asking because I don't know, but wouldn't you expect there to be some kind of emergency braking system that would prevent things like this? Unless that failed as well, which would really concern me.


It failed, or was not functional for some time. It's not really a brake, but a metal tooth that presses against the bullwheel gear. When its turning the correct way it moves with it, when it slips back its supposed to jam into the wheel teeth to stop it. It's about the simplest mechanism you can think of, which is a good thing. Usually.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Though different failure, this is why I try not to look at and think too hard about detachable chairs. It really isn't a super sophisticated system keeping you on. Thousands of chairs detaching all day long, eventually something isn't gonna work, at least my morbid mind thinks.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

killclimbz said:


> I have seen it with chairlifts more than once. This is one of the worst examples I have seen. I suppose it could happen with a Gondola, but I suspect the mechanics are much more robust with those. At least I hope so, because I am probably riding one this weekend...


I have also seen it happen. 

As for gondolas, it can happen. I saw something, not the same, just as scary happen to one of vails, the clamping mechanism holting the gondolas to the cable failed. 2 cabins slid back into the ones behind it. Fortunately they didnt detach and drop and no ome was seriously injured. I did get stuck on the same gondola for 2 hours once after a non-catastrophic rollback. Fortunately the brakes cauggt it and they were able to slowly unload it...very slowly as it would keep slipping.. 

I rarely ride with the bar down unless some one insists or its windy or extra high off the ground. For some reason im always thinking, would i die if i had to jump off right here if something happened.

Just saw foobar post above, yeah... i have seen detachable chairs fall off. Usually ends in broken bones for sure on the not so high ones. Good maintenance is key, those springs weaken over time


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## MMSlasher (Mar 18, 2016)

Argo said:


> i have seen detachable chairs fall off. Usually ends in broken bones for sure on the not so high ones. Good maintenance is key, those springs weaken over time


You've seen them fall off? Like what, halfway up the mountain and it just fell? Pretty scary.

https://youtu.be/YQtbzOzSaQs






Here is another video. I feel ashamed to say this, but I laughed in shock at some of these people getting flung around.

I think this has been a valuable lesson to us all, if you start moving backwards on the lift, prepare to undo your board and jump.


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## SlvrDragon50 (Mar 25, 2017)

Argo said:


> I have also seen it happen.
> 
> As for gondolas, it can happen. I saw something, not the same, just as scary happen to one of vails, the clamping mechanism holting the gondolas to the cable failed. 2 cabins slid back into the ones behind it. Fortunately they didnt detach and drop and no ome was seriously injured. I did get stuck on the same gondola for 2 hours once after a non-catastrophic rollback. Fortunately the brakes cauggt it and they were able to slowly unload it...very slowly as it would keep slipping..
> 
> ...


Yea, after this video I'm not pulling down the safety bar anymore unless in the situations in mentioned. I don't think I've ever seen a detachable chair lift though.. That has to be seriously scary.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

SlvrDragon50 said:


> Yea, after this video I'm not pulling down the safety bar anymore unless in the situations in mentioned. I don't think I've ever seen a detachable chair lift though.. That has to be seriously scary.


Any of the more modern resort chairlifts are detachable. They detach from the mainline to slow down while loading/unloading. They use a huge spring clamp that keeps the chair clamped to the line when its on it. 

Single speeds do not use this method and chairs are bolted/braided into the cable. They stay the same speed all the time, linespeed/unload/load speed. 

When the lift fails there is a brake and then a failsafe lock to stop it... the loaded chair will work on gravity, the side with the people is heavier and goes down hill catching more and more speed. 

You can hear what sounds like someone engaging a mechanical motor brake at the end of this when it ultimately slows down. That saved alot of people from further damage. Engaging that brake is automatic in newer lifts, older ones is likely manual(ive never been around the operations much of the older ones) and took a minute to engage, less than that actually. 

The longer it rolls back, the more people are on it, the faster it goes and the faster it will be flinging....

When a lift motor fails this happens. You have to hope your minimum wage lift operator is paying attention or hope its automated and works.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

SlvrDragon50 said:


> Yea, after this video I'm not pulling down the safety bar anymore unless in the situations in mentioned.


Then never come to Switzerland, lol. Safety bar is _always_ down. No discussion even. It's just down. Wirdest thing ever to me to don't have it down :dunno: whenever I'm in US and have to ride a chair w/o a bar, I'm nervously clinging to a side handle or backrest 

IMO its a number thing... How many vids/cases have you seen of ppl falling off lifts? Plenty. And how many of ppl not managing to open a bar and jump off the chair in case of a severe case of chairlift rollback...? 

Hell, until today, I didn't even know this term, after +30y of snowsports. I'm seriously surprized to read here that this happens often enough to justify a distinct term :surprise:


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## SlvrDragon50 (Mar 25, 2017)

Argo said:


> Any of the more modern resort chairlifts are detachable. They detach from the mainline to slow down while loading/unloading. They use a huge spring clamp that keeps the chair clamped to the line when its on it.
> 
> Single speeds do not use this method and chairs are bolted/braided into the cable. They stay the same speed all the time, linespeed/unload/load speed.
> 
> ...


Ahhhhh. So that's how high speed lifts work... Okay then, I have been on one 

Yea, I've seen too many lift operators who are just on their phones and not paying attention to the pileup on the lift exit. One guy fell asleep and got escorted down the mountain.


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## SlvrDragon50 (Mar 25, 2017)

neni said:


> Then never come to Switzerland, lol. Safety bar is _always_ down. No discussion even. It's just down. Wirdest thing ever to me to don't have it down :dunno: whenever I'm in US and have to ride a chair w/o a bar, I'm nervously clinging to a side handle or backrest
> 
> IMO its a number thing... How many vids/cases have you seen of ppl falling off lifts? Plenty. And how many of ppl not managing to open a bar and jump off the chair in case of a severe case of chairlift rollback...?
> 
> Hell, until today, I didn't even know this term, after +30y of snowsports. I'm seriously surprized to read here that this happens often enough to justify a distinct term :surprise:


Haha, I still hold on to the side handle or backrest when I don't use the safety bar  I guess I would be okay pulling it down once I'm up a certain amount. As long as there's an appropriate amount of time to remove the safety bar to bail if needed.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

neni said:


> Then never come to Switzerland, lol. Safety bar is _always_ down. No discussion even. It's just down. Wirdest thing ever to me to don't have it down :dunno: whenever I'm in US and have to ride a chair w/o a bar, I'm nervously clinging to a side handle or backrest
> 
> IMO its a number thing... How many vids/cases have you seen of ppl falling off lifts? Plenty. And how many of ppl not managing to open a bar and jump off the chair in case of a severe case of chairlift rollback...?
> 
> Hell, until today, I didn't even know this term, after +30y of snowsports. I'm seriously surprized to read here that this happens often enough to justify a distinct term :surprise:


That was one of the first nuances i noticed in Europe. Bar down always, some are even automated and you better be ready. 

Some lifts have no bar around here, some just have the one bar that is like chest level that would do nothing. 

Aside from when mentioned earlier, i put the bar down when the lift was designed for small butts too. Some feel like your gonna slide off....


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Argo said:


> Aside from when mentioned earlier, i put the bar down when the lift was designed for small butts too.


...Or if a chickenshit Swiss gal next to you nervously insists on closing them


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

neni said:


> ...Or if a chickenshit Swiss gal next to you nervously insists on closing them


Nah, not chickenshit, just preference. On the higher or steeper more exposed lifts I can be quick to put a bar down. :drinking:


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## SlvrDragon50 (Mar 25, 2017)

I only go to small Midwest mountains so I'd bet I'd be quick to pull down the safety bar on the taller lifts too


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## poser (Mar 7, 2018)

neni said:


> Then never come to Switzerland, lol. Safety bar is _always_ down. No discussion even. It's just down. Wirdest thing ever to me to don't have it down :dunno: whenever I'm in US and have to ride a chair w/o a bar, I'm nervously clinging to a side handle or backrest
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I never pull the bar down myself unless others on the chair want it down. I was on a lift with the bar down and when we went to raise the bar, a young girl was caught on it and went up with the bar and fell off the lift as a result. 5 adults raising the bar up didn’t feel the weight of the 10 year old girl. She was fine thankfully. 

My home skin area has a number of “vintage lifts” with no bar at all. One of them, I am told, is the oldest functioning lift in CO which I would assume dates it to the 1960s. Just up the road, Silverton Mountain uses a recycled 1974 chair lift they bought from Mammoth for $25,000. No bar and, at times, 50-60 feet high with a sketchy offload, especially in the early season. That being said, if you’re riding Silverton Mtn, the lift is the least of your concerns.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

I notice my heart rate is noticeably higher when the bar isn't down. I really don't like heights. Whenever I go above probably 50' I start to race a bit. I prefer being able to put my arms across something as well.


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## offthewallds (Dec 16, 2016)

Argo said:


> ...
> I rarely ride with the bar down unless some one insists or its windy or extra high off the ground. For some reason im always thinking, would i die if i had to jump off right here if something happened.
> ...


Ditto. I've always thought it was a bit morbid to consider, but it happens every ride up the lift.


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## motleybeast (Mar 25, 2015)

f00bar said:


> I notice my heart rate is noticeably higher when the bar isn't down. I really don't like heights. Whenever I go above probably 50' I start to race a bit. I prefer being able to put my arms across something as well.


I'm the same. And whenever I get near to the end of the lift, or when that bar goes up, whichever comes first, I ALWAYS hook my arm over the back of the chair until we get into the station a bit more, or we're at a height I know I'll be ok to jump off at. Whenever I'm on a lift with other people, I generally let them control when the bar goes up or down, providing they're not being stupid. But I'll adjust my arm accordingly! 

Have to admit, pretty scary video!


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

f00bar said:


> I notice my heart rate is noticeably higher when the bar isn't down. I really don't like heights. Whenever I go above probably 50' I start to race a bit. I prefer being able to put my arms across something as well.


Got this heart race in gondolas. Prefer to stand somewhere in the middle, far away from a window; keeps my final destination prone mind at bay. 

Was at the window in the Aiguille du Midi gondola. Omg... that one has a free cable of 5000ft vert between the last supporting pole and top station. Approaching the top, the gondola rises straight up along a vertical wall and ur looking down into an abyss. Stomach wrenching.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

neni said:


> Got this heart race in gondolas. Prefer to stand somewhere in the middle, far away from a window; keeps my final destination prone mind at bay.
> 
> Was at the window in the Aiguille du Midi gondola. Omg... that one has a free cable of 5000ft vert between the last supporting pole and top station. Approaching the top, the gondola rises straight up along a vertical wall and ur looking down into an abyss. Stomach wrenching.


ooh...does gondola have a glass bottom?

Anyway saw this yesterday morning before heading up to the hill; several times while riding the chair up caught myself wondering what if this happened right now :nerd: :surprise:


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

wrathfuldeity said:


> ooh...does gondola have a glass bottom?
> 
> Anyway saw this yesterday morning before heading up to the hill; several times while riding the chair up caught myself wondering what if this happened right now :nerd: :surprise:


I think the answer is bail as soon as possible. It's only going to pick up speed and the worst thing is going around that bull wheel.

NASA studies have shown falls <20' are almost certainly never deadly. <40' is a roll of the dice. > 40' you're dead.

All of these just taking velocity and impact and not what you land or impale yourself on, snow, incline, etc.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

neni said:


> Got this heart race in gondolas. Prefer to stand somewhere in the middle, far away from a window; keeps my final destination prone mind at bay.
> 
> Was at the window in the Aiguille du Midi gondola. Omg... that one has a free cable of 5000ft vert between the last supporting pole and top station. Approaching the top, the gondola rises straight up along a vertical wall and ur looking down into an abyss. Stomach wrenching.


Speaking of terrifying gondola rides.... :blink:













(....thought this thread needed a bit of humor interjected into it before we _all_ swear off riding the chairlifts.) :laugh:>




-edit-
Btw,... I was riding the main lift at Mt Holly early this season when a piece of my lift chair *fell the FUCK off of it!!* :blink:

A Small, black, rectangular piece of metal just fell from above & clanked off the chair next to my leg before disappearing into the snow below.... 

When I made it to the top, I suppressed the urge to drop to my knees & kiss the snow (...._anyone who's ever ridden with me knows that this often happens involuntarily to me on my lift dismounts anyway_) :laugh: and I reported it to the lifty!

They immediately removed the chair from the rotation. :blink:


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

wrathfuldeity said:


> ooh...does gondola have a glass bottom?


No way I would enter a glass bottom gondola. No freaking way! NO NO NO NOOOO!


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## SlvrDragon50 (Mar 25, 2017)

chomps1211 said:


> Speaking of terrifying gondola rides.... :blink:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ahaha. I loved that movie!


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

.....mental note.........jump............


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

in russia chairlift rides you


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

snowklinger said:


> in russia chairlift rides you


:rofl3:*Bawhahahahaahawhhahaa*!! :laugh:
OMG,... I could even hear that thick Russian accent in my head while I was reading that!!!
:rofl3:

Well played!! :grin:


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## snowman55 (Feb 17, 2012)

Amazingly, the worst injury from that mayhem was a broken arm. I thought when watching the guy/gal who got flung like a ragdoll would have multiple fractures or worse. That was f'in crazy.


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## Fielding (Feb 15, 2015)

I think the best strategy for not getting hurt on a rollback like the one in Georgia is 

1. As you feel the rollback starting get into your rear foot binding 

2. Twist yourself off the seat and grab onto the lowest nonmoving part of the chairlift so that you are dangling by your hands with the nose of your board pointed directly at the bull wheel

3. As the unwind speeds up take careful account of what’s happening under you. You’re preparing to drop. You want to make sure that you’re not going to land on rocks or other humans. The ideal target is a large patch of firm, well groomed corduroy. Pow is acceptable but is second best.

4. When you’ve got ample speed from the unwind and you are (factoring in lead time) ready to drop to the groom, let go of the lift.

5. Keep the nose pointed straight to the bottom. Keep your front foot weighted. Bend your knees. 

6. When your board makes contact with the snow keep it pointed straight down the fall line until you’ve reached ample speed to execute the following maneuver. Watch overhead for helpless skiers and riders just bucking themselves off their chairs.

7. Upon achieving downhill speed of roughly 30 to 40mph, initiate your turn across the fall line with a subtle lean as you progressively decamber your board. Angulate the board sufficiently as you do this to achieve the edge hold you’ll need to hold your line. 

8. Work the entire sidecut from tip to tal. You’re going to use every bit of the effective edge, one cm at the time. 

9. Stay in the box. As you tip the board on edge you may instinctively want to stretch out or to flop on the snow. This is a mistake. One way to stay stacked over you edge is to reach for the upturned edge of your board (right in front of your front binding) with the opposite hand. This will keep your edge stuck into the snow.

10. Ride the turn all the way across the fall line and then back up the mountain as a means of bleeding off speed. Try not to use skids to speed check unless absolutely necessary. While still holding speed initiate your next turn by pointing the nose back down the fall line.

11. As you prepare to carve back in the direction of the ongoing lift disaster look up hill to see if anyone is falling from the lift or if some stupid straight-liner is headed into your chosen line. It may be necessary to do a few crossunders before doing your next big carved turn in order to put the big turn in the right place. 

12. While not absolutely necessary for everyone, your best chance of surviving an unwind using this technique is to be riding a long, full camber board with bindings attached in + + angles. Hardboots and plate bindings on a 18cm wide board are a plus. 

13. If your board has wavy edge grip technology and/or rocker between the bindings then do not attempt the steps above. Your best bet is to stay seated until you go around the bull wheel.


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## SlvrDragon50 (Mar 25, 2017)

snowman55 said:


> Amazingly, the worst injury from that mayhem was a broken arm. I thought when watching the guy/gal who got flung like a ragdoll would have multiple fractures or worse. That was f'in crazy.


I think they were lucky with what looked to be a ton of powder combined with not being thrown into other people.


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## snowman55 (Feb 17, 2012)

Here is the full video from another angle(at 27sec mark). Looks like some luck and having good snow saved people from more serious injuries.


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## SlvrDragon50 (Mar 25, 2017)

snowman55 said:


> Here is the full video from another angle(at 27sec mark). Looks like some luck and having good snow saved people from more serious injuries.


Wow. Those people were thrown off insanely fast. And those two people who got buried underneath the chairs.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

I'd like to know how they eventually stopped it. Was the safety disabled and they enabled it or some other mechanism was used.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

f00bar said:


> I'd like to know how they eventually stopped it. Was the safety disabled and they enabled it or some other mechanism was used.


When you watch other vids of the accident, it seems as it stopped just by itself: no ppl and no chairs anymore, no weight pulling, potential energy running out.

A guide I rode with this winter was there - luckily not on the lift - and meant that all safety mechanisms had failed.


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## timmytard (Mar 19, 2009)

I watched that old chairlift test video a long time ago.
No way I'd be sittin' on the chair when it went around the bull wheel.

I fuckin' hate the bar coming down.
Get in arguments with people all the time haha.
Had tug of wars with people.
Haha hate that fuckin' thing.

Cause it prevents me from setting up my lounge chair.0

Here's a little walk-through for ya.
Safety first kids haha.>

[ame]https://vimeo.com/160846900[/ame]

Now I don't think I'd have a hard time exiting the lounge chair.

I can't do that when the chair's full either.
So sometimes I fuck up the order a bit so my chair has at least one less person.

In nasty blizzard days, when nobody's out there.
You can take your board off & create a little shelter if you lie down.

Grow some balls people.
It's a chair.
You stopped wearing the safety bar at like 2 years old.
Do you need to practice sitting in a chair:dry:


TT


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Yeah, I don't think it was the braking system that engaged. My understanding is the whole gear box pretty much has to blow for something like this to happen. Most likely all the chairs getting stacked up at the bottom damaged the equipment and created a fair amount of friction. Add in most of the weight being unloaded on the uphill side and it stopped.


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