User:Tech Teacher 101/Sugarloaf Spillway East Chairlift Deropement

Overview
On December 28, 2010, the Spillway East Charlift at Sugarloaf Ski Resort in Carrabasset Valley, Maine, sending skiers plummeting 25 to 30 feet and leaving some skiers stranded on the lift for 2 hours. The lift was 35 years old and was planned to be replaced in the summer of 2011.

Timeline

 * Sugarloaf experiences winds immediatley after a snowstorm on Monday, dumping 22" of snow on the mountain, and puting the lift on hold at the beginning of Tuesday.


 * Winds dimineshed and inspection were made to open the lift. It opened at 9:55 a.m.


 * At 10:23 a.m., a ski patrol member reports the lift cable coming close to falling off Tower 8. A mechanic was dispatched to Tower 8 and another one to the base. They tried to re-rope it into the wheels but it didn't work.


 * The lift was slowed down and the unloading process began.


 * When the deropement happened, shortly after slowing down, the mechanic at Tower 8 notified the mechanic at the base to stop the lift.


 * At 12:14 a.m. the lift was completley evacuated. 8 people were sent to the hospital and no one was killed.