admin said:
I'd be pretty bummed if this happened. Probably wouldnt go back to that resort.
yeah i'd say so. that vid was gnarly. i googled that shit real quick and it looks like it happened in WI once….
From Summit Daily News 12/18/09:
Rollback: 3 seriously injured in Wis. ski lift accident
By The Associated Press,
MERRIMAC, Wis. — Authorities said at least 14 people were injured, three
seriously, Thursday night in a ski lift accident at the Devil's Head
Resort near the Wisconsin town of Merrimac.
Sauk County Chief Deputy Chip Meister said the accident happened about 7
p.m. Thursday. He said the chair lift stopped, and then started going
backward, and lift operators were unable to stop it immediately.
Seven people were in fair condition at Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital
& Clinics in Prairie du Sac, a hospital spokeswoman told the
Wisconsin State Journal. Seven more people were treated for minor
injuries at St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo, a spokeswoman told the
Journal.
Meister said 12 people were taken to area hospitals from the scene, but
additional people went later to hospitals on their own. He says at least
three of them were seriously injured but not critically. He didn't have
details on the ages of the victims or the nature of their injuries.
He said the lift was full, but he didn't know how may people were aboard
when it started going backward. He said emergency responders finished
evacuating the lift just after 9 p.m.
Merrimac is about 20 miles northwest of Madison.
UPDATE ON DEVILS HEAD LIFT ACCIDENT
December 18, 2009
SAM Magazine—Merrimac, Wisc., Dec. 18, 2009—At least 14 people were
injured in a lift malfunction at Devil's Head Resort, Wisc., three of
them seriously though not critically, after a lift rollback incident.
The lift, a 1970s Hall double, was full when it stopped and then started
to roll back last night at about 7 p.m. All three brake systems failed,
and 10 to 15 chairs rolled back through the terminal. Several deroped
as they swung wildly around the bullwheel, some catching on the terminal
skirting, which was also damaged. The haul rope itself deroped at the
first tower above the terminal.
The lift was fully evacuated by 9 p.m. All of those admitted to the two area hospitals were released by Friday morning.
Witnesses described the rollback as very quick. Many people jumped from
the lift while others were slammed into the bottom terminal, where most
of the injuries occurred. Witnesses said that sparks were flying and
they smelled smoke at the terminal. One described a “loud bang” and the
smell of “burned rubber.” The State Department of Commerce has taken
charge of the investigation, but cause of the accident has not been
determined.
The lift had been inspected as recently as last month by The Richardson
Group, which had done annual inspections since 2007. The state last
inspected the lift in 2006.
