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Readers say they feel safe on ski lifts after two lift incidents in N.H. in less than a week
"Unfortunately freak accidents like this happen, but there are also millions of chairlift rides every winter without incident."
After two lift chair incidents at two different ski mountains in New Hampshire in the same week — one that resulted in a man being hospitalized — we asked Boston.com readers if they still feel safe on ski lifts and the answer is yes.
More than 60 passengers were evacuated with rope from a lift at Cannon Mountain on Wednesday after it malfunctioned. Cannon is a state-run ski area in Franconia Notch State Park.
“While all chairlifts and equipment at Cannon undergo regular inspection and testing, mechanical issues can occasionally occur,” wrote Cannon Mountain officials in a statement.
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The malfunction was from “a bolt affixed to the power take-off shaft” that failed on the Peabody Express Quad, according to a statement posted on the mountain’s website.
On Sunday, a man fell 20 feet from the Flying Bear chairlift at Attitash Mountain Resort when the chair detached from the lift. He was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries and has since been released. Attitash Mountain Resort is operated by Vail Resorts.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, it appears a mechanical failure caused one of the chairs to dislodge from the cable,” wrote the NH State Fire Marshal’s Office in a statement. “The manufacturer of the lift has been contacted and is responding to the scene to assist with the investigation.”
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When we asked readers if they feel safe on ski lifts after this week’s lift incidents, 137 people responded to our survey. Of those, 55 percent (75 people) said they feel safe. After that, 24 percent (33 people) said they don’t feel safe and 21 percent (29 people) said it depends.
Do you feel safe on a ski lift?
Yes
55%
No
25%
It depends
20%
Readers had the following to say about how safe they feel on ski lifts after the incidents.
I feel safe
“I was on the Peabody Chairlift at Cannon when it failed. The Cannon Mt ski patrol was on top of their game and did a great job. I felt safe at all times. Cold, but safe. This was not a dangerous incident due to the quick response.” — Gerry F. of Brookline
“I’ve been skiing since I could walk, I have been on thousands of lifts in varying conditions without issue. Unfortunately freak accidents like this happen, but there are also millions of chairlift rides every winter without incident.” — Ryan S. from Allston
“I have under my belt 40+ years of skiing and have never experienced an issue with lifts — other than routine stops for people to be assisted on and off. Besides the infrequent and super rare system failure that requires people to be evacuated by rope systems, this is the first time I’ve heard of a single chair dislodging from the cable.” — Joel R. from Boxborough
“It’s the same as being a passenger on an airplane. Being a car passenger is more dangerous statistically.” — John from Somerville
“You feel safe because the odds are greatly in your favor but you’d be lying if you say you never survey the mountain on your way up to plan your landing if it ever happens.” — Pete from Peabody
I don’t feel safe
“If it happened once, what’s to say it won’t happen again?” — Henry from Easton
“Having been stuck on a chair lift before in the freezing cold for over an hour, I don’t ever feel comfortable on one!!” — Anonymous reader from Boston
“When the preponderance of NE ski resorts went from family-owned to conglomerate-owned, the focus shifted from skier experience to the almighty dollar. Expert groomers, mechanics and others were shoved aside in the name of cheaper hires. East of the Rockies, I’ll only ski certain mountains in the province of Quebec, and in Northern NE, the mountains I’ll ski I can count on one hand and miss the thumb.” — Perry G. from Andover
“We own at Attitash and my three very young children ride the lifts daily. This oversight is inexcusable. Shortcuts, of any kind, are not acceptable. I understand the pressure that these ski resorts feel to get everything up and running with plenty of open trails, but safety needs to be prioritized. I would feel proud to be on a resort that often times closed lifts or trails ‘in an abundance of caution.’ They would be praised, not ridiculed. I don’t know how to get past this and it’s something we as a family need to discuss how we handle it.” — anonymous reader
“Concerned that Vail is not taking care of all their resorts.” — anonymous reader
It depends
“It depends on the mountain. If it was at Wildcat, its probably OK. The ski patrol and management there are very cautious.” — Frank G. from Pembroke
“Depends on the visual appearance and staff attentiveness. If the staff isn’t attentive or the lifts don’t look well maintained, those could be indicators of problems.” — Robert K. from Pembroke
“Not at Vail resorts in the east; they need to divest and return the mountains to the locals.” — FDB from unnamed town
“Yes, anywhere but at Attitash. My family swore off that mountain after several bad experiences there, including one very busy day where at one point or another every single lift broke down for a period of time… including the carpet (!!). They consistently oversell tickets and do not appear to invest in the mountain. We have been to nearly every resort in New England and have never had an experience as bad as we have at ‘Attitrash.'” — J Nolan from Franklin
“I was on the lift at ragged Mountain when it broke down in 1980 — 2.5 hours in bitter, freezing temperatures waiting to be lowered. Apparently, New Hampshire has an issue with ski lift maintenance.” — Michael from Stoneham
Responses lightly edited for clarity.
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