After a warm December in 1998, Snow Trails, Ohio opened for the season later than any of its previous 38 years. Cold weather finally arrived the last week of December, allowing our small area to open all six chairlifts prior to the important New Year’s holiday weekend.
During a routine morning lift inspection of the #3 Alpine Triple Chairlift on the morning of January 1, however, Thad Philpott, mountain manager, discovered that a single, badly-damaged weld was the only thing holding the depression tower sheave trains to the tower itself. An immediate call to management resulted in the isolation of the lift from both guests and employees due to the risk of uncontrolled de-tensioning of the haul rope. With the help of ski patrol, trails crossing under the lift were closed and slope areas adjacent to the lift were blocked off.
Two local civil engineers (who were also season pass holders) were recruited to determine how to stabilize the lift. They quickly devised a plan that used two bulldozers and two chainfalls to relieve the tension on the tower.
Blueprints for the tower were located and a local fabricator was contacted within hours of the discovery. A new tower, manufactured according to Garaventa CTEC’s specs, was delivered and installed in record time to re-open the triple chairlift by the following weekend.
Closer examination of the damaged tower revealed that water within the tower had frozen, resulting in severe damage from ice expansion. Subsequent investigation showed that a small 3/16-inch hole had been drilled into the top of the tower, probably sometime during the 1980s. This resulted in rainwater slowly filling the tower over a period of years until, once full, a few days of very cold weather destroyed it.
The importance of regular inspection of all aspects of a chairlift should always be emphasized to lift personnel. In this case, a less thorough inspection could have resulted in disaster if the lift had been operated.
