Gondola Tower Collapses in Whistler

[thebobman]

WTF? How did we miss this?
Full Story @ CNN.com

CNN -- Passengers have been rescued from a gondola dangling over a freezing creek after the tower snapped in half Tuesday at a ski resort near Whistler, British Columbia.

The accident occurred at a tower that was constructed in two pieces, and the top part came away from the lower part, Forseth said. He said resort officials did not know what caused the structural failure, but an investigation would be conducted Wednesday.

Tyler Noble, a reporter for CNNRadio affiliate CKNW in Vancouver, was on the scene at the Whistler Blackcomb resort about 110 miles north of Vancouver. He reported that at least two gondola cars hit the ground after the accident, both from relatively low heights near the tower that split and caused the system's heavy cable line to slacken.

"One hit a bus stop and the other hit a house," Noble said. "Another one was suspended over a creek, but everyone is out of that car."

But Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Steve Wright stressed that no gondolas had fallen. "At no time was anyone in serous risk and at no time were the cars separated from the line," Wright said.

Canadian Television News footage showed rescuers walking down a fire truck ladder escorting passengers from one gondola over the frozen water. At least six people were trapped inside that cabin, which was the closest to the base of the mountain, CTV News reported.

"It just started really suddenly, we saw people running everywhere," Jean-Philippe Plante said. Plante, from Vancouver, was visiting the ski resort when the gondola snapped. Plante said he planned to go skiing Tuesday morning, but changed his mind. "We just went for a walk, so I guess it's a good thing because we might have been one of the people stuck here," he said.

No serious injuries were reported, but a spokeswoman for the Whistler Blackcomb resort said five people required medical attention. Three were taken to a nearby clinic and two were taken to a hospital as a precaution, said spokeswoman Tabetha Boot.

[laska]

Originally Posted by thebobman

At least six people were trapped inside that cabin

This has all the makings of a great romantic comedy

[Kandyapple]

Originally Posted by thebobman

WTF? How did we miss this?
Full Story @ CNN.com

We didn't ;)

http://fnk.ca/board/f232/vancouver-n...a-down-216766/

Bane of my existence today.

[Haze]

Interwests Release:



WHISTLER BLACKCOMB OPERATIONS TO RESUME FOLLOWING BC SAFETY AUTHORITY SECONDARY INSPECTION

December 17, 2008 – The British Columbia Safety Authority (BCSA), BC’s independent auditor on passenger ropeway systems, has given approval for Whistler Blackcomb to continue regular operations on its mountain lifts, with the exception of the Excalibur Gondola.

“Preliminary inspection by BC safety officers has determined that this was an isolated incident of water contamination in a tower tube which caused a tower joint flange to fail due to ice jacking,” said Greg Paddon, safety manager from the BC Safety Authority. “There is no justification at this time that other installations operating at Whistler Blackcomb have been effected by a similar failure; the BC Safety Authority does not anticipate rescinding operating permits on any lifts currently operating at Whistler Blackcomb other than the upper and lower Excalibur Gondola. Investigation into the incident continues on both the lower and upper Excalibur Gondola; these installations will not return to service December 17, 2008.”
Tuesday afternoon at approximately 2:30pm, a structural failure on tower 4 of the Excalibur Gondola caused the gondola to cease operation. All gondola cabins remained on the line; however a number of the cabins dropped approximately 30 feet with the sagging span, and two cabins hit the ground, injuring several people. Twelve guests were treated at the Whistler Medical Clinic and all walked out on their own accord later that evening. A total of 53 people were evacuated off the affected lower line of the gondola. The evacuation was completed by 5:51pm.

Several factors converged to cause the tower failure. The structure of the tower is such that two parts are spliced together. Water had seeped into the tower which had turned to ice with the recent extreme cold temperatures. The ice build-up caused the tower splice to rupture, an extremely unusual situation referred to as “ice-jacking”. Further investigation by a team of lift manufacturer and independent engineering experts will take place early afternoon today.“


As always, our top priority is for the safety and well-being of our resort guests and employees,” says Doug Forseth, senior vice president of operations. “Whistler Blackcomb delayed opening some of our lifts this morning until the BCSA confirmed our findings from last night. After the work conducted throughout last night by our own lift maintenance team, and a secondary inspection that was completed by the BCSA, access to all our operational lifts, with the exception of the Excalibur Gondola, is expected to be available by midday.”
Following BCSA’s inspection, the following lifts are now clear to open: Emerald Express, Big Red Express and Franz’s Chair, in addition to the Whistler Village Gondola and the Creekside Gondola on Whistler Mountain. Wizard Express, Solar Coaster and Excelerator on Blackcomb. Crews have now moved to the Jersey Cream Express and Glacier Express on Blackcomb and both those are expected to be cleared shortly.

The Excalibur Gondola is a Doppelmayr lift, and was installed in 1994. A world-leader in lift design and manufacturing, Doppelmayr lifts are in operation throughout the world and their safety record is excellent.

For further information about Whistler Blackcomb operating hours, open lifts, snow conditions and open terrain, please visit Whistler Blackcomb - Official Ski Resort Website - Whistler, BC, Canada.

--EOS

[gnosis]

I was watching weather reports on tv when the banner flashed across the screen about this, just after it happened.

I quickly did a search online and found out it was Excalibur.

DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!

Since I usually only ride on Blackcomb, this is my lifeline to the hill!

This means that everyone's going to be jamming Upper Village to load up on Merlin's chair.

Either that, or ascend Whislter to Peak2Peak to access Blackcomb.

Thankfully, I added the P2P option to my edge card.

Frosty
(will NOT wait for the glass-bottomed gondolas)