Speaking of Lifts and the Ski Patrol: Lift Tower Collapses at Whistler

This week I’ve written a lot about legal issues, safety concerns, and chair lifts. Coincidentally, some of these issues came to the fore at Whistler/Blackcomb during this week as well.’

Martin Griff, who writes about snow sports for several newspapers in New Jersey, reports on the events on his blog.

Start with the entry Blackcomb gondola tower collapses: 53 people rescued.

He writes, “A Google search will find numerous stories about the collapse on the web. I’m not sure about copyright issues and have yet to find stories with permalinks, so you’re on your own in finding objective coverage.” Then he provides a link to a press release from the W/B management. And sure enough, the ski patrol came through by evacuating people from the cabins.

The next entry from Martin’s blog is “‘Ice jacking’ caused tower failure at Whistler Blackcomb, according to media update.” In brief, the tower expanded and popped, just like what happens if you leave a can of soda/pop/beer out in very cold temperatures.

According to a CNN report, a police official says “At no time was anyone in serious risk and at no time were the cars separated from the line.”