Difficult not to notice that the 2024/2025 ski season has been plagued by a preponderance of high profile chairlift/gondola malfunctions and incidents from across the world.
The following video explores the circumstance behind seven such incidents including what happened, the resort response and what the general public can take away from the events.
Incidents highlighted:
- Kicking Horse, British Columbia: Gondola cabin detachment
- Attitash, New Hampshire: Chair detachment
- Red Lodge, Montana: Wind-related accident at Red Lodge, Montana
- Astún, Spain: Catastrophic chairlift collapse
- Superdévoluy, France: Christmas Eve rescue of 240 skiers
- Heavenly Resort, California: Chairlift collision
- Stowe, Vermont: Gondola window failure
With 6,000+ active ski resorts around the world operating 20,000+ chairlifts, in the grand scheme of things these malfunctions are rare despite the apparent rise this season With literal millions of safe rides every year vs a handful of accidents, we can still be confident as we enjoy the advantages of uphill travel at ski resorts but at the same time gain an appreciation for proper chairlift maintenance and ski resorts’ emergency preparedness plans.
