Breckenridge skier dies after falling from chair lift

[fatbob]

Breckenridge Skier Dead After Falling From Chairlift "Attempting To Remove Snow From The Seat Surface”

“Breckenridge Ski Resort, Ski Patrol and the entire Vail Resorts community extend our deepest sympathy and support to our guest’s family and friends,”

www.google.com

 

[Karl B]

That is sad. I bet that ultimately the finger will point at Breckenridge because the seats weren't swept clean.

 

[RobSN]

This is, indeed, tragic but to echo a thread a month or so back, the article notes that the bar was up. I have cleared snow from a seat even with the bar down, and with the wiggling around to clear snow, bar down is clearly safer. But, as was noted in the thread about the two teenagers who died at Copper, this guy wasn't likely aiming to do something life ending. I suppose we can all learn a lesson from it, but it's a ghastly way to learn it.

 

[Bozzenhagen]

To add insult to injury. He was also a former ski patroller and an operations risk manager.

 

[Sibhusky]

All it takes is a brief second of inattention.

 

[blue]

To add insult to injury. He was also a former ski patroller and an operations risk manager.

The snow on the seat is no joke. Your butt warms the snow up and they become layer of super slippery water and snow mix. No matter how experienced you are, you can’t fight physics. It could be innocent shifting your weight a little, or lift stopping, and you’re having close calls.

 

[martyg]

The Summit County Sheriff investigation determined the safety bar was up..." Low occurrence / high consequence. I am a fan of the bar.

 

[James]

If the bar is down and there’s a footrest, you can stand on the footrest to clean the seat somewhat.

 

[Johnny V.]

All it takes is a brief second of inattention.

NOT a bar vs. no bar post, but Thursday at Copper (with gusty winds) we were riding the American Flyer/blue bubble chair. Bar was down, bubble was up. We raised the bar slightly early and a gust caught the bubble rocking the heck out of the chair. Scary as there is nothing to grab on to, and at that chair it's a fair drop to the ground even close to the unload point. Yes, I was unnerved.

 

[blue]

NOT a bar vs. no bar post, but Thursday at Copper (with gusty winds) we were riding the American Flyer/blue bubble chair. Bar was down, bubble was up. We raised the bar slightly early and a gust caught the bubble rocking the heck out of the chair. Scary as there is nothing to grab on to, and at that chair it's a fair drop to the ground even close to the unload point. Yes, I was unnerved.

I’m in favor of bars down, but many people don’t like it. I leave it up because I don’t want to cause inconvenience to others.

 

[James]

NOT a bar vs. no bar post, but Thursday at Copper (with gusty winds) we were riding the American Flyer/blue bubble chair. Bar was down, bubble was up. We raised the bar slightly early and a gust caught the bubble rocking the heck out of the chair. Scary as there is nothing to grab on to, and at that chair it's a fair drop to the ground even close to the unload point. Yes, I was unnerved.

We’ve had people fall off in that scenario.
Your only choice if in the middle is to stick your hand up and push the bar up, sort of holding you. But it’s a bad angle.

 

[crosscountry]

I’m in favor of bars down, but many people don’t like it. I leave it up because I don’t want to cause inconvenience to others.

I beg to disagree with your assumption. What "inconvenience" people had against bar down?

Most people don't "dislike" bars down. They're just too lazy to pull it down.

So if you want it down, do it! I've NEVER EVER had anyone objecting to my wanting the bar down.

(I only want the bar down if I'm wearing a backpack, which puts me slightly forward on the chair. I want the extra safety the bar provides in that scenario)

 

[Mendieta]

The Summit County Sheriff investigation determined the safety bar was up..." Low occurrence / high consequence. I am a fan of the bar.

Agreed . And yet, one out of five times I request to lower the bar someone on the lift seems terribly annoyed or offended. Go figure! My condolences for this tragic loss

 

[Quandary]

I’m in favor of bars down, but many people don’t like it. I leave it up because I don’t want to cause inconvenience to others.

That's pure foolishness, and I am being kind.

 

[Quandary]

If the bar is down and there’s a footrest, you can stand on the footrest to clean the seat somewhat.

Not that its relevant there is no foot rest on that chair. Just the bar.

 

[Bozzenhagen]

The snow on the seat is no joke. Your butt warms the snow up and they become layer of super slippery water and snow mix. No matter how experienced you are, you can’t fight physics. It could be innocent shifting your weight a little, or lift stopping, and you’re having close calls.

Yep. I am super scared when it happens to me and tell myself not to slip although it feels like I'm about to. Feels like at any moment you can banana slip right underneath the bars even.

It's worse if the seat is short and a lot of your legs hang over the edge and if the seat doesn't slope backward towards the backrest.

 

[SBrown]

NOT a bar vs. no bar post, but Thursday at Copper (with gusty winds) we were riding the American Flyer/blue bubble chair. Bar was down, bubble was up. We raised the bar slightly early and a gust caught the bubble rocking the heck out of the chair. Scary as there is nothing to grab on to, and at that chair it's a fair drop to the ground even close to the unload point. Yes, I was unnerved.

Yep, PSA for others: lower the bar on that chair. I can usually take or leave the bar, but I always always always use that one. The seat is shallow and angled forward. And you're right, don't raise it until the last second. (Actually, I don't understand why people always raise bars two towers from the terminal, on any chair ... the most dangerous part is often right at unload.) Glad everything worked out.

 

[Bozzenhagen]

Doesn't Le Buble auto raise? I took that lift several times and the bar + bubble raise is automated (but it happens super late, just gotta wait, wait, wait, wait....).

 

[k2rider]

I ski (on groomer days) and snowboard (on powder days) so it's been snowboard season and at *most* resorts, I don't like the bar down if it has foot rests. Due to a previous knee injury, using the foot rest tweaks my knee and having it down prevents me from supporting my snowboard to keep the weight off my knee. That being said, 90% of people want the bar down and I don't ever question or protest it. It's not life changing.

At Beaver Mountain in Utah, the foot rest hangs much lower and its great...for me. My 5 foot skier wife can't even reach the foot rests.

 

[blue]

I beg to disagree with your assumption. What "inconvenience" people had against bar down?

Most people don't "dislike" bars down. They're just too lazy to pull it down.

So if you want it down, do it! I've NEVER EVER had anyone objecting to my wanting the bar down.

(I only want the bar down if I'm wearing a backpack, which puts me slightly forward on the chair. I want the extra safety the bar provides in that scenario)

That's pure foolishness, and I am being kind.

It feels like I’m causing other people trouble or doing things others don’t like. Tall people might get hit in the head by the vertical part that lands on the seat; people might get pinched by it too, and footrests might catch someone’s ski. On top of that my local lifts are short, and only ski patrols here use the bar. Maybe going forward I should just do what I want, hopefully more people join in and change the culture.