The lift crews at Winter Park were running some tests on the Eskimo chairlift almost exactly 31 years ago when they ran a rollback test,
The chairs were loaded with concrete blocks to simulate skiers, and the results were not pretty for the Eskimo lift.
Watch as the chairs violently swing around the bull wheels and cause destruction as they fling into the other parts of the lift.
It’s enough to make me reconsider ever riding a chairlift again…
Just kidding on that comment above about never riding a chairlift again, but I can’t lie it makes me a little squeamish. Lifts today have even more safety fallbacks to prevent something like from happening, but it’s definitely not impossible.
A similar rollback injured 7 skiers back in 2015 at Sugarloaf Resort, ME.
Thank a lift mechanic and/or operator the next time you see one. Your life is in their hands when you ride a lift at a resort!