One person was killed and three others injured in a chairlift accident today near the Alpine ski resort of Grindelwald. The incident happened on the Kleine-Scheidegg pass. Mountain rescue officials said other passengers on the chairlift had to be evacuated from the ground, as high winds made the use of helicopters too dangerous....From: http://www.twincities.com/travel/ci_7871779?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
el Hen, yikes - that sounds like a big moment... what a place to be stranded with the Nord Wand of the the Eiger drawing the weather in
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?
Crumbs. Doesn't give any details as to which lift......I wonder if one of our Wengen based snowHeads has more info?
Fallboden is probably one of the oldest chairs left at Wengen....it's a 2 seater. It is one of the more exposed lifts, and is often the 1st to be shut (or not opened).
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Statement from Jungfrau railways - doesn't say any more.
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.
Frosty the Snowman, The wind is blowing straight at us from La Ros this evening, I popped out just now and it's bitingly cold
The Glacier and Verdons Nord were both closed here today.
We had to bring in the Father Christmas' that are climbing up the balcony, they were in danger of blowing away
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
One of the oldest lifts? That ages me as I remember it being put in, I still think of it as new.
I also remember that it was almost destroyed by the wind in one of the next few years, the chairs wre wrapped around the cable, a very frightening demonstration of the wind.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Elizabeth B wrote:
Fallboden is probably one of the oldest chairs left at Wengen....it's a 2 seater. It is one of the more exposed lifts, and is often the 1st to be shut (or not opened).
Fallboden is not even a very old lift, although it appears so being the last non-detachable. Wixi is MUCH older...
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.
Okay.....Fallboden looks old
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
The dead man was apparently from Germany as was one of the seriously injured people, the other two seriously injured were apparently from Australia, one of them is reported to have head injuries whilst the other is apparently not as serious, looks like two chairs fell to the ground so I'd guess that the rope came off at one of the pylons. A further 40 people were evacuated from the lift but no others seem to have anything other than minor cuts and bruises
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
D G Orf wrote:
The dead man was apparently from Germany as was one of the seriously injured people, the other two seriously injured were apparently from Australia, one of them is reported to have head injuries whilst the other is apparently not as serious, looks like two chairs fell to the ground so I'd guess that the rope came off at one of the pylons. A further 40 people were evacuated from the lift but no others seem to have anything other than minor cuts and bruises
The circumstances look very similar to the incident in les Deux Alpes during the summer. Sudden unexpected high winds - 120km/h gusts apparently. It was a foehn or southern wind which also raised temperatures in the lee slopes.
Strong winds probably triggered the chairlift accident in the Bernese Oberland that killed a German tourist and injured three other people on Thursday.
There is no evidence to suggest a technical defect in the Fallboden installation above the ski resort of Grindelwald, according to Joseph Zeder, who is leading an investigation into the accident.
"We are working on the assumption that the wind was a factor," he said on Friday.
The three injured - a German woman and an Australian couple – were taken to hospital, with the German in a serious condition.
After an initial inspection on Thursday, Zeder remarked that a cable had apparently jumped off a guidewheel on one of the chairlift's support towers that rise up to 14 metres above the slopes leading to the Kleine Scheidegg pass.
Rescue officials said 75 passengers who were stranded on the chairlift had to be evacuated by ground-based specialists as high winds made the use of helicopters too dangerous.
The national weather centre, MeteoSwiss, said winds had reached speeds of 90 kilometres per hour when the accident happened.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Per the radio (WRS) this morning although high winds are still suspected and no definitive "cause" has been established, the chair won't be closed.
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?
they say 2 to 3 weeks in the blick. From what I heard from people on the lift (4 chairs behind) that day is the chair stopped during a really mental wind, the chair lifted in the air from the wind, the chair fell. Could have saved them an inquiry with that
Somehow I think I would have been more re-assured if they had found a fault or defect. If it was 'just' high wind does anyone know if the chairlift was being operated within it's normal operating range as far as wind speed was concerned?
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
it was being unloaded, was already closed. From what I hear it was crawling up.
On the photo is clearly visible the cable initially did fall in the catches...
The lift will be allowed to be put into service again, late Januari early februari. The damaged set of rollers will be replaced and send to the manufacturer (Garaventa) for analysis. Something did break/twist that led to the deroping.
The text is a bit difficult for me... this is the general idea i make from it.
After all it is free
After all it is free
davidof, Having walked off the glacier with Easiski that day and I am still profoundly grateful for doing so I think there was a feeling that the decision to evacuate could have been made earlier and the Jandri not used - tho of course hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Having also been in Granada last Wed & Thurs they closed the Sierra Nevada area due to wind on the Wed pm and notices on the website through Wed evening said opening was subject to the weather - and the next morning they decided by very early they were staying shut. I know the Sierra Nevada is somewhat notorious for being shut due to high wind, but am beginning to wonder whether they also have processes in place that make it easier to shut. Mind you the process for getting a refund on our lift passes for that day is paperwork heavy and involved several queues. But that is a very minor niggle when I looked again at the videos of that day at LDA - the best walk I have ever taken I think with hindsight.
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