#NoPoles Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Damn, that's a catastrophic lift failure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Ok, lift rollback is bad. Got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 What's the deal with Sugarloaf? Didn't they have another catastrophic lift failure a couple years ago? In other news I skied Stowe yesterday and it was fantastic. Conditions were mid-winter like and it was pretty comfortable (around 30ish). Definitely an epic day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbutts Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Originally Posted by DaffyJeffy I was waiting in line at the Kingpine chair a while back, perhaps a month ago. All the sudden one of the lifties started yelling and carrying on, cursing like crazy (very un-liftie behavior). He said something like "F$%c this place! I'm out of here! I'm going home!". It wasn't clear what pissed this guy off initially but then he explained it: A large piece of metal broke off above him and hit him in the head (I think it kind of grazed him). He was very angry but apparently okay. The other liftie sent the skiers away saying, and I quote, "there could be a rollback risk". I thought to myself "that sucks, no Kingpine today". I skied down and got on Whiffletree. When I got back to the top I saw that Kingpine was running and loading skiers again. I thought "must not be a big deal" and went and got on the chair. It was unnerving that the chair was making a loud clunking noise, but I figured "they know what they are doing". I love Sugarloaf. I live here. I have no ax to grind. The above story is accurate without embellishment. That is the way it happened. Is it related to todays accident? Probably not, but Sugarloaf is playing WAY too fast and loose with their safety policies in my opinion. Most of you know about the Spillway incident and some of you know about the snowmaker that was seriously injured this year. It is time for Sugarloaf to take safety seriously and stop capitulating to marketing pressure to put their money in needless 30-person hot tubs and MAINTAIN THEIR GODDAMN INFRASTRUCTURE. Someone posted on another forum. No way to tell if it's really true, but I would tend to believe it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 What's the deal with Sugarloaf? Didn't they have another catastrophic lift failure a couple years ago? In other news I skied Stowe yesterday and it was fantastic. Conditions were mid-winter like and it was pretty comfortable (around 30ish). Definitely an epic day. December 2010 was a high wind derailment. Just for the record, I came to GYX in February 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 From what I remember there were wind holds that morning, but then the wind let up and they started the lifts up. It was shortly after that the cable came loose. MWN did "calm" a bit to 50 mph gusting 68 mph, but quickly came back up to 80 mph gusting to 97 mph the next hour. Sugarloaf is about 2000 feet shorter than MWN, but you get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbutts Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 From what I remember there were wind holds that morning, but then the wind let up and they started the lifts up. It was shortly after that the cable came loose. MWN did "calm" a bit to 50 mph gusting 68 mph, but quickly came back up to 80 mph gusting to 97 mph the next hour. Sugarloaf is about 2000 feet shorter than MWN, but you get the idea. https://www1.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/professions/elevator/pdf/Final%20Report%20Sugarloaf%20Spillway%20East%20Report.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 From what I remember there were wind holds that morning, but then the wind let up and they started the lifts up. It was shortly after that the cable came loose. MWN did "calm" a bit to 50 mph gusting 68 mph, but quickly came back up to 80 mph gusting to 97 mph the next hour. Sugarloaf is about 2000 feet shorter than MWN, but you get the idea. That accident was not wind related...at least not the primary reason. Though yes it was windy that day. They had a mechanical issue they knew about and were in the process of running guests off the lift on slow.-------------------------- "At this point, Lake radioed Pomeroy to start the lift so he could evaluate whether his actions would cause the wire rope to return to the sheave grooves. As the lift started moving again, Lake realized that he would need to make additional adjustments to get the wire rope back into the sheave grooves and requested that the lift be stopped. At this point, Lake adjusted the turnbuckle, an additional 1⁄4 turn in the clockwise direction. Once this adjustment was completed, the lift was restarted to assess the alignment of the wire rope in the sheave assembly. This adjustment did not correct the wire rope position. The mechanics determined that the lift should be operated on slow to allow passengers to be run off the lift; however, approximately 5 to 10 seconds after restarting the lift to get passengers off, the deropement occurred." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Sugarloaf unfortunately does not have a good safety record going for it. It's bad for the industry as a whole to have these events happen. But the incident a few years ago came to the conclusion that lift maintenance was responsible for the accident. "During a records review, we evaluated operational logs, the maintenance manual and records of prior maintenance activities related to the lift. The maintenance records were inadequate. The area did not have a complete maintenance manual or all the drawings for Spillway East." This is why you log that stuff. If a maintenance person tightens a screw somewhere, document it. You have an accident, you want detailed and accurate records otherwise it can be interpreted as negligence if you can't prove you are replacing and checking parts per manufacturers specs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 In other news I skied Stowe yesterday and it was fantastic. Conditions were mid-winter like and it was pretty comfortable (around 30ish). Definitely an epic day. It has been pretty good in recent days...like mid-winter snow quality (read: dry, chalky) with a late March sun. Today was a bit much though, in terms of cold. This was real-deal frostbite cold and wind...right up there with January. -12F at like 10am with a steady 30-40mph wind (steady in an unrelentless way) on the upper mountain was impressive and painful, haha. Snow was good, weather conditions real deal January cold shot. Last night, the wind was really ripping, enough that the 2" above 2,000ft was blown clear from some trails, and deposited in the woods. Quite a bit of scouring...and wind-loading. Really made for some fun turns if you followed the gullies. A friend's photo. This was yesterday...when it was so good I had to go back for more. Inbounds powder, 5 days since the last snowfall, on a Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarloaf1989 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Skied at Sundown yesterday morning from 8:30-10:30am and took in a quick 10 runs on groomed chaatteroy, just the way I like it. It got surprisingly crowded when I left, with the main parking lot half full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subdude Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 What's the deal with Sugarloaf? Didn't they have another catastrophic lift failure a couple years ago? In other news I skied Stowe yesterday and it was fantastic. Conditions were mid-winter like and it was pretty comfortable (around 30ish). Definitely an epic day. Stowe was indeed epic on Sat. I skied it with my two children (they've never been) been 20yrs for me. Couldn't believe how much coverage they still have and the front four were still open. I dreaded this day but my son who's 17 has finally caught up to dad with his skiing abilities. I may be a bit more graceful but man can he rip the bumps, and hit the jumps like a champ. We skied Starr together and I was thoroughly impressed. Lots of fun on Sat. And my daughter who's 14 held her own on the steeps. Memorable day that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. I turned my app on after run 4 11runs, 21.7k vertical ft, 16.8mi, max speed 53.3mph, sus speed 47.8mph, avg speed 15.3mph, 31 jumps, air time 15.3 sec. 773 calories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 It has been pretty good in recent days...like mid-winter snow quality (read: dry, chalky) with a late March sun. Today was a bit much though, in terms of cold. This was real-deal frostbite cold and wind...right up there with January. -12F at like 10am with a steady 30-40mph wind (steady in an unrelentless way) on the upper mountain was impressive and painful, haha. Snow was good, weather conditions real deal January cold shot. Last night, the wind was really ripping, enough that the 2" above 2,000ft was blown clear from some trails, and deposited in the woods. Quite a bit of scouring...and wind-loading. Really made for some fun turns if you followed the gullies. A friend's photo. This was yesterday...when it was so good I had to go back for more. Inbounds powder, 5 days since the last snowfall, on a Saturday. It was cold in the morning, but when I went after lunch, it seemed that wind died down, sun was out and it was pleasant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIPPYVALLEY Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Ok, lift rollback is bad. Got it. My brother who has been a pass holder and former ski patrol there forever told me his friends in mountain ops said it was a pretty major gear failure with the bull wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 My brother who has been a pass holder and former ski patrol there forever told me his friends in mountain ops said it was a pretty major gear failure with the bull wheel. Yeah the initial investigation results showed catastrophic failure of the gearbox...which started the whole ordeal. Past roll-back events in the industry are mostly related to gearbox fails...like the one in 2009 in the midwest where a gearbox broke into 3 pieces when trying to re-start the lift. Odds are, this SL incident started after a lift stop. The lift gave the electrical command to restart and something caused the gearbox to fail. The service brake is then rendered useless, and what *should* have happened is the stop dog pin should've dropped into the bullwheel jamming it up. Not sure if they had an electronic or spring-loaded trigger, but instantly the stop/drop dog should've released. The liftie did what he was supposed to, and hit the emergency stop, which acts on the bullwheel like a giant disk brake. Unfortunately by that time the lift may have already had enough reverse momentum that the emergency brake could only slow the lift to a stop instead of immediately stopping it. That did stop the lift though and without it, this incident would've been much worse. It sounds like ski patrol did an excellent job evacuating the lift and taking care of the injuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professional Lurker Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Gonna make some turns tomorrow I think. ...anybody want to join me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIPPYVALLEY Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Gonna make some turns tomorrow I think. ...anybody want to join me? Can't tomorrow. Are they done this weekend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIPPYVALLEY Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Yeah the initial investigation results showed catastrophic failure of the gearbox...which started the whole ordeal. Past roll-back events in the industry are mostly related to gearbox fails...like the one in 2009 in the midwest where a gearbox broke into 3 pieces when trying to re-start the lift. Odds are, this SL incident started after a lift stop. The lift gave the electrical command to restart and something caused the gearbox to fail. The service brake is then rendered useless, and what *should* have happened is the stop dog pin should've dropped into the bullwheel jamming it up. Not sure if they had an electronic or spring-loaded trigger, but instantly the stop/drop dog should've released. The liftie did what he was supposed to, and hit the emergency stop, which acts on the bullwheel like a giant disk brake. Unfortunately by that time the lift may have already had enough reverse momentum that the emergency brake could only slow the lift to a stop instead of immediately stopping it. That did stop the lift though and without it, this incident would've been much worse. It sounds like ski patrol did an excellent job evacuating the lift and taking care of the injuries. That lift is overdue for replacement. They were talking about replacing it with a Super Quad like 4 or 5 years ago IIRC.As far as safety records SL is the most laid back big mountain I've ever seen. That's great until it isn't. Ever go to their reggae weekend? Those folks know how to paaarty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professional Lurker Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Can't tomorrow. Are they done this weekend?I don't believe so. It's my guess that after this week they'll be done with midweek operations. They might go until mid April provided they can keep their snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Bluebird alert, skiing has been fast and firm with occasional ice but overall fantastic with bluebird conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Goofy question, but anyone know the steepest grade on any slope in SNE? I presume either Tuckermans or Goat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Never mind. Found this site http://www.gondyline.com/angle-of-ski-trails.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professional Lurker Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Goofy question, but anyone know the steepest grade on any slope in SNE? I presume either Tuckermans or Goat? Technically neither are in sne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professional Lurker Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 ...and honestly, there are many step trails not on that list, or even steep sections of trails over 300' in length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORH_wxman Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 ...and honestly, there are many step trails not on that list, or even steep sections of trails over 300' in length. I was thinking the same thing. I skied Kmart in February and lower Ovation I would think should be on the list of shorter trails Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I mistyped SNE...meant all of New England...old habits. I don't think that list is all inclusive. This came up because my son was arguing that he could run up a 45 degree slope and I told him he didn't understand how steep that was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I mistyped SNE...meant all of New England...old habits. I don't think that list is all inclusive. This came up because my son was arguing that he could run up a 45 degree slope and I told him he didn't understand how steep that was. People over-estimate the slope of terrain 100% of the time, haha. I don't think people realize just how steep a 35 degree slope is. No way could you run up a 45 degree slope, that's essentially rock climbing with hands above your head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbutts Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST. It's just a comparison of some popular trails that we're able to make pretty good measurements on. That's all it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subdude Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 That lift is overdue for replacement. They were talking about replacing it with a Super Quad like 4 or 5 years ago IIRC. As far as safety records SL is the most laid back big mountain I've ever seen. That's great until it isn't. Ever go to their reggae weekend? Those folks know how to paaarty. Went to Reggae fest 5yrs in a row back in the 90s. Good times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Yesterday was pretty much as good as it gets at Killington. What a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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