Northern Rockies/Alberta Mangled chair? No problem! Missoula Snowbowl

[Sibhusky]

A kid falls off a lift, the chair mangled by its collision with a pole, and they keep running the lift.

Toddler tossed off chairlift in 'terrifying' Missoula Snowbowl malfunction

Pictures of the incident show Nathan McLeod straddling a mangled chair, desperately trying to see if his 4-year-old son was hurt or worse after being thrown off.

missoulian.com

 

[TonyPlush]

Does this give Snowbowl bonus points in the dirtbag thread?

 

[dbostedo]

Does Montana have state inspection/safety laws that apply to chair lifts? Like some states where they're treated like public transportation?

 

[Jilly]

It's in Montana.

Maybe @Lift Blog can answer re safety. But my first thought as an easterner is no safety bars....

 

[dbostedo]

It's in Montana.

Fixed above... typo because of "Missoula"!

 

[crgildart]

Now way in hell I'd my 4 year old on that style of lift these days. I know a safety bar does not stop anyone from slipping off the chair. But it DOES give folks something else to grab on to.

 

[1Turn2Many]

There have been instances of someone carelessly dropping the safety bar, causing the foot rest to hit the top of a little one’s skis and levering them forward off the seat.

 

[gratedwasabi]

There have been instances of someone carelessly dropping the safety bar, causing the foot rest to hit the top of a little one’s skis and levering them forward off the seat.

Also cases of people trying to put on a seatbelt, wrapping it around their own neck, and suffocating. Most safety devices can be used to actually cause harm if you really, really try at it, but we should probably still use them. Just, you know, look at the people next to you.. make sure they're ready.. lower the bar slowly.. and you're good!

 

[markojp]

Sounds like a serious misload and staff training issue. Yes, MT has mandatory lift inspections....

 

[teejaywhy]

My wife and I have adopted a mantra for the post-covid experience: "Just lower your expectations."

 

[Sibhusky]

Apparently there's some question on whether they are opening this season.

Montana Ski Area Needs To Fix Lifts In Order To Open This Winter

Update 10/6: The Montana Snowbowl has released a statement about this matter, saying that they are finalizing the work on the chairlifts. Increased safety

unofficialnetworks.com

 

[Tricia]

Apparently there's some question on whether they are opening this season.

Montana Ski Area Needs To Fix Lifts In Order To Open This Winter

Update 10/6: The Montana Snowbowl has released a statement about this matter, saying that they are finalizing the work on the chairlifts. Increased safety

unofficialnetworks.com

From Unofficial networks article. There's a lot happening that seems to be a lack of organization.

• A saw contractor was killed at the ski area in September, although this was of his own doing. He was an avid skier at the Snowbowl and worked to clear trees at the ski area in the summer.
• In April, the U.S. Forest Service demanded changes at the Snowbowl, or else, they would revoke their permit.
• Earlier that month, an allegedly drunk driver ran into a friend in the Snowbowl’s parking lot, killing him.
• In March, one of the Snowpark chairs slammed into a lift tower, throwing a toddler off, and then destroying the chair, making the kid’s father hang on for his life. The father eventually needed to jump off as well. Both were okay, but the father was furious over the lack of communication from management, lift operations, and ski patrol. The ski area eventually apologized for the incident.
• In 2020, a malfunction on the Lavelle Chairlift led to a chair violently swinging around the bullwheel and falling off, which frayed the cable. Luckily, no one was hurt, and everyone was safely evacuated.

 

[Sibhusky]

My daughter used to live there and wouldn't ski there (well she raced there, but that's it.) She thought it was safer in the back country. I used to go there when she was racing years ago and the chairs were so slow I could barely ski off at the top. But that's maybe 10 days 18-20 years ago.

The writer is more generous about them than she is.

 

[Sibhusky]

Latest:

Montana Snowbowl undergoes safety checks before winter season begins

Montana Snowbowl Inc. is permitted through Lolo National Forest through a Ski Area Term Special Use Permit.Snowbowl will conduct an annuall inspection of the ae

nbcmontana.com