WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP — Even one of the most established businesses in Mansfield isn’t immune to opening day kinks.
Sunday at Snow Trails ended on an unfortunate note for some skiers and snowboarders when they were trapped on a chair lift for nearly an hour before they touched ground. The slopes’ Mt. Mansfield chairlifts started having trouble when the triple chairlift started to make “squeaky” noises, Snow Trails General Manager Scott Crislip said Monday morning.
“It was unfortunate timing and customers are certainly not happy, it was kind of Murphy’s Law. But we’ll get everything tested and back running for the season,” Crislip said.
He expects the triple chairlift to be back up and operational within a day or two.
Mechanical issues began around 4 p.m. on Sunday, the ski resort’s opening day for the 2016 season. The operator decided to run remaining skiers off the lift and shut it down to check on the problem.
Crislip said staff then opened the double chairlift for Mt. Mansfield.
At around 8 p.m., the double chairlift seized while, according to Crislip, around half of a dozen skiers remained on the lift. Snow Trails ski patrol hoisted a harness up to the skiers to remove them from the lift.
Crislip said Mt. Mansfield’s double chairlift is currently operational.
“There was some ice on the sensor and there’s a failsafe on it and it stopped running,” Crislip said of the double chairlift.
Maintenance staff, however, continue to probe into the squeaking noise heard in the triple chairlift. As of Monday morning, the triple chairlift that transports skiers and snowboarders to the peak of Mt. Mansfield is nonoperational while a crew works on a fix.
Crislip said some the ski resort still uses original ski and chairlifts. Snow Trails was founded in 1961 and Mt. Mansfield, along with its double chairlift, was the first slope to open. He said there are no immediate plans to replace any of the six, which include two doubles and four triples. Depending on the quality level and size, he said replacing an entire lift could reach up to $1 million.
“They’re different ages but they’re maintained annually. There’s third-party inspection teams and insurance companies each year that check them before we operate them. If you maintain them they can last for a long time,” Crislip said.
The resort’s ski patrol, he said, is trained annually in chair evacuations.
“No one was hurt, it’s (chair evacuation) a little dangerous, but it’s not life threatening,” he said.
Snow Trails streams live video on four web cams placed throughout the resort. Crislip said a recording of the skiers getting down from the lift is unavailable.
