Has anyone else ever been stuck on a ski lift before?

Question

We were skiing Mt Hood (Timberline) New Years Eve day and our lift shut off about halfway up the mountain. All the visible chairs in front of us and behind us were empty. Personally I think they didn't realize there was still anyone on the lift. We were up there almost an hour in 12 degrees plus a wind so it was pretty cold. The sun was setting and it was dark by the time we got off of it. Has this happened to anyone else??

They did refund our money but just curious how common this is. They said it was a power failure.

Answer 1

Yes. Many times with 2 evacs. Once, when windchill was well below zero, ski patrol literally threw a tennis ball attached to twine over the lift cable. They then lifted a rope over the cable and attached a t-bar like contraption. I kicked off my skis, threw down my poles and scooted onto the bar. Not fun. No refund (season pass and all) and no free hot cocoa!

Answer 2

me 2 in NJ

Answer 3

It unfortunately does happen often enough that Ski Lift Evac is a mandatory part of most Ski Patrol Squads' annual training.

Most lifts are electric (there are a few old diesels still doing the job) and electric lifts have a back-up drive...usually a diesel engine.

This only helps if the problem is that the power supply has gone down. Most malfunctions occur due to some other mechanical break-down. The most common problem is that the cable has jumped out of a sheave (the wheels on the lift towers) because something is wrong with the sheave. They experience a lot of wear and are prone to malfunction.

I've been lucky to have only got stuck once, on Killington's Skyeship Gondola. It was down for about 30 minutes and we did not have to evac. I did get a comp pass...which is funny because I was skiing on a comp already. I have volunteered to help with the evacs at two resorts while I was skiing there.

Answer 4

You aren't the only one, believe me. That happens quite frequently. Especially with smaller ski areas with older lifts...I've been stuck on chairs for that long several times. Never needed an evac though like the person above.

One mountain in eastern NY shut off the lift with two guys on it and headed home for the night. Left them there all night in the freezing New England cold. I believe that was West Mountain.

Answer 5

That's either one of two people's fault.  One- it's yours if you got on the lift without an attendant there. (Maybe they had already done "last chair" and were already in the process of sweeping the chairs through- you did say the sun was setting...)  Two- it was the lifty's fault for not taking proper note of the last chair with people on it.  Say you were chair 46, and they thought you were chair 64.  Once chair 64 got to the top, they stopped it.

So- yes, probably for your waiting and to keep you happy they would refund your money, but that's not a normal situation.

It probably wasn't really a "power failure"- if you were the only ones on the chair, I'd say it was "user or liftie error"