 Poster: A snowHead
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Whilst not strictly skiing related (I'm not aware of any pistes in Cologne!), this story of the lift failure and subsequent rescue of the stranded passengers may be of interest.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hmm.
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| The incident is said to have been the result of one of the gondolas clipping a part of the support structure, bringing the entire cable transport system to a standstill. |
Begs the question of why one of the gondolas clipped the support structure.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| achilles wrote: |
Hmm.
Begs the question of why one of the gondolas clipped the support structure. |
My best guess would be someone inside one of the gondolas rocking it so hard that it hit a part of the pylon...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Idiots was my first guess. Not aware of any intense weather, but there could have been a local storm I guess.
I believe there quite a few cable cars or gondola around that area, going up from several rivers (Rhine, Mosel, Saar, etc.) up to the top of a scenic hill. No idea where this specific one is.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Stanton's link leads to a form page which suggests that gusty winds may have caused the problem - and that it's happened before. Maybe the operators need to keep better eye on the weather and be more inclined to shut the lift if strong winds/gusts threaten.
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@andy, It was the Kölner Seilbahn that just crosses the Rhine from one part of the city to another. No hills involved.
Is it really possible for the passengers involved to swing a cabin that much? I thought that you might be able to get it to tip a bit from one side to another, but the lateral movement would still be pretty limited.
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Sh*t happens with cableways all the time - it's a vulnerable* form of transportation when you think about it
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/05/11/ski-granby-ranch-ski-lift-death-final-report/
* I don't mean in terms of absolute level of accidents per ride per head etc as I don't have stats but more in terms of what risk factors are present - elevation above ground, extremes of temperature, wind exposure, stressed cables, single points of attachment etc.
Or put it another way - bus has a drive failure, goes clunk and stops, chairlift/gondola gets stopped hard and put into a sway.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I remember many years ago the cable car in Singapore that runs from the World Trade Centre to Sentosa was clipped by a floating drill platform's derrick when they were trying to get the platform out from its mooring . Knocked quite a few of the cars off a resulted in several fatalities (imagine its not much mentioned or allowed to be mentioned in the tourist literature!).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Cable_Car_disaster
I didnt recall the rescue operation being so remarkable but seems to have been the case.
But only incident on that one that I know of resulting in death. Been on it a few times and in all the time living there dont recall any other incidents (or reported incidents) so lessons learnt.
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One of the passengers, a Mrs Merkel, denied swinging on the lift
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
Whilst not strictly skiing related (I'm not aware of any pistes in Cologne)!
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Landgraaf is pretty close and they have a 6 seat chairlift
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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One of the passengers, a Mrs Merkel, denied swinging on the lift
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It looks remarkably like Dr Merkel, the German chancellor
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| johnE wrote: |
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One of the passengers, a Mrs Merkel, denied swinging on the lift
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It looks remarkably like Dr Merkel, the German chancellor |
Yes, same smile 
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You know it makes sense.
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| johnE wrote: |
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One of the passengers, a Mrs Merkel, denied swinging on the lift
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It looks remarkably like Dr Merkel, the German chancellor |
It is indeed. On holiday in Solda Italy. Papers are comparing her with our own dear leader Mrs May
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I've been on that cable car, wasn't a particularly windy day, but the sway from the wind high up above the Rhine was rather terrifying. It's more like the London cable car thingy across from Greenwich to Docklands in that respect, goes up high above the river then back down. So always going to be more prone to wind than something following the contours of a mountain.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Rcav,
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It's more like the London cable car thingy across from Greenwich to Docklands in that respect, goes up high above the river then back down. So always going to be more prone to wind than something following the contours of a mountain.
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Apologies for being pedantic, but surely the height of a cable car above the ground depends upon two things:
1. The height of the pylons and, apart from a few metres here or there, I can't imagine they are much different from your average ski-resort cable car.
2. How much the ground drops away between pylons. There are some huge drops in the alps, but Cologne is basically flat.
Anyway, the 'victims' of the Cologne incident were rescued by mobile crane so they can't have been that high up.
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