Confessions of breaking a ski lift

Several injured as chairs drop from Maine ski lift

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AP – This photo provided by Al Noyes shows skiers and lift chairs on the slope, lower right, after a lift …

By GLENN ADAMS, Associated Press – 1 min ago

CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine – A chair lift derailed in high winds at Maine's tallest ski mountain Tuesday, sending screaming skiers plummeting as far as 30 feet to the slope below and injuring several of them.

The Sugarloaf resort in Carrabassett Valley, about 120 miles north of Portland, said about six people were injured when five chairs fell an estimated 25 to 30 feet. The resort's ski patrol evacuated the lift, which had passed an inspection.

None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, the resort said. The injured were treated and taken to hospitals. About 220 people were on the lift at the time, and inspectors were headed to the scene.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101228/ap_on_re_us/us_ski_lift_accident


I saw this headline today, and it reminded me of something I did back in 1977 or 1978.  My sister Cindy and I were on a ski lift at Sundance.  There were no restraining bars across the front, or anything holding us in, and nothing to rest our feet on.  We were just sitting on a bench, which had bars going up at the sides, (you could hold onto them like holding onto the chains of a swing.)

We were about 20-40 feet up in the air, and my legs with their heavy boots and skis were hanging down.  I started swinging my legs and skis sideways to make the chair go back and forth.   Cindy was probably telling me to stop it.  Suddenly, swinging the chair caused it to derail off the cable, and our chair fell about 5 feet, maybe more.  I can remember almost being thrown off, the drop was so violent.  Thankfully the chair was  being held up by the backup cable.

She and I were lucky we had been holding on because our rear ends slipped off the chair and we had to scramble back on.  We looked around and the whole ski lift was stopped.  Luckily no one had fallen off, but we were all stranded up there for I think a half an hour, in the freezing cold wind, waiting to get rescued.

I can remember Cindy threatening me the whole time "I'm going to tell them that you broke it!"  but she didn't.

I think this is one of the worst things I ever did.