One Death Reported in Ski Lift Accident

[skibetty]

So sad. My brother is courtesy patrol at Beaver Creek and it is required of him to put the bar down whenever he is on the chair. Safety first. With as crazy as the wind has been lately, I don't hesitate putting it down. It boggles the mind when parents don't care if the bar is down when they are riding with their children. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I don't think anything has been reported on whether the bar was up or down in this incident.

 

[SallyCat]

I've sat on lifts with small kids and notice that they can't sit very deep in the chair. I wonder if one of the kids slipped for some reason and the mom reacted, setting the chair swaying.

Two of the Vermont resorts have "bubble chairs," which are actually quite nice on bitter, windy days (even with the bubble left up, they still block a lot of wind). But they make me nervous because they are built to be as enclosed as possible, which means there are no gaps in the backs or sides of the seat--nothing to hold onto. I bring the bar down on those things, pronto.

 

[newboots]

I wonder how it started to sway. I keep picturing the chairs full of kids who think it's fun to swing the chair, and then the chairs ahead and behind swing, too. Again, wild speculation. It has been crazy windy around here, so maybe it was just bad wind and bad timing.

I read that some other lift rider said that there were frequent stops on the lift, and that the chairs were "bouncing" when it stopped. I don't know, though; it's just what someone said to a reporter.

 

[Jilly]

The first I wondered was did one of the kids slip off first. I've gone up with some of the ski school kids. Some kids can't keep still. I call them the squirmers. And a chair without a safety bar and/or foot rests that can easily happen. More will come about the incident I'm sure.

This place is a big spot for beginners ins't it?

 

[bounceswoosh]

@Jilly yes. My co-worker takes his kids there for the mellow, isolated beginner terrain.

 

[2ski2moro]

So sad. I had envisioned little kids, but these were 9 and 12 years old. And the chairlift photo that they are showing has a safety bar with footrests.

I wonder if we will ever know what happened. Do they publish reports when the investigation is final?

 

[artistinsuburbia]

latest eye witness reports say no bar was being used. So awful.
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/ne...ls-cause-of-death-in-chairlift-fall-in-granby

 

[just jane]

Wow. So sad!

 

[heather matthews]

It's a funny thing. Many of the places I ski don't have them, although they are adding them, but it's just how many of us grew up skiing, ie, a bar is not something I miss if it's not there. It really has nothing to do with being cool, I never understood that; it's just habit.

This is so odd to me. Everywhere that I have skied has had them apart from a single chair up to the peak I remember at Niseko.Seems to make little sense not to use it if it's there but I guess it's totally what you are used to.So sad a thing to happen to that poor family.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I hope the kids have a second parent.

That photo on the Denver Channel site is creepy. I get why they blanked out the kids' faces, but ...

 

[Moonrocket]

I read an article that said the mom's fiancé and the kids' dad are in Colorado and a grandfather and Aunt are in route.

So sad!

ETA
I have no idea if this is a legitimate news site but here's the article https://heavy.com/news/2016/12/kell...-colorado-aetna-facebook-photo-grandby-ranch/

 

[Jilly]

That goes along with something else I've read about the incident. But why was the chair swinging?

 

[Moonrocket]

It's a little suspect the lift is still closed.

The night before this happened the winds were insane in the valley. I heard gusts close to 100 mph on Berthoud Pass. I know Winter Park did not open all lifts at opening - not sure if they were inspecting or what prior to opening (this resort is probably a 20 minute drive from Winter Park in the same valley.)

No idea if this impacted anything.

The day before WP had tons of lifts closed.

 

[Liquid Yellow]

Omg,I didn't even know that not putting the safety bar down was a thing. Everywhere I've skied had had them and everyone has used them. I couldn't imagine not using them.

This. In Europe everyone puts the safety bar down, always. Some new chairlifts have automatic bars so you don't get a choice.

I cannot understand why you wouldn't bother, are some blokes really that pathetic to think that it somehow hurts their masculinity?

Terrible story though, how very sad.

 

[Christy]

Since we don't know what really happened, we don't know the bar would have kept them in. I have to think it's very possible to be ejected even with the bar down.

As for why people don't, when you have 4 and especially 6 packs, it's a hassle to get everyone sorted with the footrest. If it's all skiers it's not bad, but when there are snowboarders with their boards resting at 90 degrees, it is. And it's a chair, and we aren't likely to simply fall out of a chair. Obviously but very rarely something can happen, and so I understand the argument for, and I personally do enjoy a footrest.

 

[Powgirl]

It IS much more difficult to use the bar with snowboarders...and, I get the eyeroll at times when I request the bar with boarders...

 

[bounceswoosh]

I cannot understand why you wouldn't bother, are some blokes really that pathetic to think that it somehow hurts their masculinity?

Well, maybe, but I and others have posted here that we often don't bother - and we're not blokes, and I'd prefer to think we're not pathetic.

 

[skibetty]

I think the more you use it the more you get used to it! It's there for your safety! So what if you get an eye roll or called a name...you have to think about yourself in certain situations and do what you're comfortable with! I don't even ask if they are ok with the bar, I just announce that it's coming down!

 

[bounceswoosh]

I think the more you use it the more you get used to it! It's there for your safety! So what if you get an eye roll or called a name...you have to think about yourself in certain situations and do what you're comfortable with! I don't even ask if they are ok with the bar, I just announce that it's coming down!

Please bring it down *slowly*. The reason to ask is because some people are still getting settled, and when you bring the bar down when they're not ready, it's going to whack someone in the head or the footrest will lever the leg painfully.