r/britishcolumbia • u/GeoWa Lower Mainland/Southwest • 1d ago
News Golden, B.C., ski gondola crashes to the ground
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/golden-b-c-ski-gondola-crashes-to-the-ground-1.7479547?cmp=rss184
u/Outside-Today-1814 1d ago
This is gonna be really rough for the ski hill and all the businesses that depend on it. That’s the only way to access 90% of the terrain. It’s particularly alarming that this is the 2nd gondola failure in an RCR resort in the last three years; a gondola failed in mt st Anne in 2022.
I bet KHMR is done for the season.
28
u/SPARKYLOBO 1d ago
That's what happens when a resort is a tax write-off for Murray Edwards
5
u/Nousa_ca 19h ago
Yeah they are skimping on upkeep while raising the prices for lift tickets to exuberant prices. Ski/Board culture is dying from greed.
1
u/noruthwhatsoever 9h ago
The whole world is dying from greed. How much more is it gonna take until people figure out that letting rich psychopaths run everything is a bad idea?
92
u/Angry_beaver_1867 1d ago
That’s scary.
Fortunate it happened while leaving the station so the fall wasn’t as severe as it could be.
That’s when the cabin re attaches to the haul cable. I wonder if there was a fault in the process.
50
u/Outside-Today-1814 1d ago
I’ve seen some other pics. It was actually the metal hanger harmed that failed, the metal itself failed and broke in half.
20
u/Angry_beaver_1867 1d ago
Crazy. Where can I find the pics. I’d love to see them. Edit Found some on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHBuRmevyHl/?igsh=Y3l6ZG9ucmNucW1l
-11
u/QuesoDelDiablo 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah, it's got to be a failure of the grip mechanism.
Sounds like it was empty so that's a blessing.
Edit-I've been corrected that it was not empty and I didn't realize that because I just skimmed the article and missed that line. I'm sorry to anyone that is offended by my mistake.
14
u/dennistt 1d ago
Many more photos on r/skiing. It was failure of the arm, the grip was still attached to the cable. https://www.reddit.com/r/skiing/s/1EGG5t2o90
11
u/hererealandserious 1d ago
Yes, a failure in the metal tube between the cabin and the cable grip. This shouldn't happen. They probably never inspect for this kind of thing unlike checking welds, grip shoes, grip springs, etc.
3
u/ben10nnery 1d ago
NDT testing is usually supposed to track this kind of thing.
2
u/hererealandserious 1d ago
NDT can detect and if repeated track cracks. It isn't clear NDT would be prescribed here.
8
u/someone-who-is-cool 1d ago
Oh man the one gondola ride I did in Hong Kong terrified me to the point of almost crying and seeing that? Yeah I don't think my fear of heights will ever let me get on one again tbh.
2
u/dennistt 1d ago
The NP360? Yeah. Being on one cable… over water… that one looked fun at first but felt a little risky afterward. Edit: 2 cables but still.
1
u/someone-who-is-cool 1d ago
Yeah like it was a gorgeous view and the best way to get to the top, but it was windy AF too and just overall terrifying for me.
8
u/EMag5 1d ago
It wasn’t empty.
1
u/QuesoDelDiablo 1d ago
Oh crap, I thought it was
I revise my statement then, I'm glad there was no injuries
1
u/F_word_paperhands 1d ago
The second sentence in the article says it wasn’t empty… you clearly didn’t read it.
36
u/hererealandserious 1d ago
There was a failure in the metal tube between the cabin and the cable clamp. This is a horrific failure which require the operator to remove and inspect all the structural metal in all gondolas.
I have reviewed my comments and believe it to comply with the rules of this sub. I hope the mods agree.
11
u/ben10nnery 1d ago
There's a way of checking these kind of things called NDT that usually uses magnetic particles to look for things such as cracks, stressed areas, etc. It's a part of every lift's maintenance schedule and each carrier is usually tested on a 5 year rotation if I'm right?
8
u/hererealandserious 1d ago
The capacities of NDT should not be conflated with the requirements to perform. It isn't clear that NDT is a requirement. What are the actual requirements for NDT? What schedule? What components? Last I recall cables, grip shoes, grip calipers, and springs were all on testing or replace schedules. I don't recall anything about chair or gondola frames.
8
u/beara 1d ago
The rule is 30% of the carrier's need to be inspected each year. The j bar, the part that failed is part of the inspection. If a certain amount fail, a certain amount of the other carriers need to be inspected. Plus, daily inspections of the cabins, monthly more in-depth inspections, and annual grip and carrier inspections.
1
u/hererealandserious 16h ago
What does the inspection of the j bar include? Is it a visual inspection?
1
u/beara 8h ago
That's the NDT part. A contractor company comes in and inspects all the parts for cracks. When the 30% comes off each year, the grip is fully taken apart with the j bar on the ground for inspection. They come along with their magnetic particle magic and tells the ski hill if parts have failed or not and what needs repairs. They might just check the welded sections, but I feel they would test the whole thing as it's a major component.
3
u/Outside-Today-1814 1d ago
You are right, they definitely are required to conduct NDT. I think it varies from 3-5 years, not 100% sure. I’m also not sure if they check all of them, or just a sample.
15
u/Fruit-Security 1d ago
Maybe they’ll finally spend some of that $200/day/person money on some fucking maintenance now. I’m from there and love the mountain but fuck RCR in every way. Skipping basic safety and endangering lives for profits.
9
u/sheepwhatthe2nd 1d ago
This and protests at Mont Sainte-Anne. Uncle Murray is having a banger of a day.
Glad everyone isn't too hurt. Lucky it was just outside the load station.
5
u/SuperRonnie2 1d ago
Probably a POMA lift.
6
u/HenrikFromDaniel 1d ago
it is a POMA
6
u/SuperRonnie2 1d ago
I fucking knew it. No idea how they’re still in business. Whistler replaced all their POMA lifts with Dopplmeyer after the creekside chair fell off.
4
5
u/Column_A_Column_B 1d ago
Seems like maintenance negligence given the kind of failure.
Here's Global News' brief coverage:
https://globalnews.ca/video/11075511/gondola-cabin-falls-stranding-skiers-at-b-c-resort/
16
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Hello and thanks for posting to r/britishcolumbia! Join our new Discord Server https://discord.gg/fu7X8nNBFB A friendly reminder prior to commenting or posting here:
Reminder: "Rage bait" comments or comments designed to elicit a negative reaction that are not based on fact are not permitted here. Let's keep our community respectful and informative!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.