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Five fall from a chairlift that's hit by a tree

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Five people were treated for minor injuries yesterday, after falling up to 5m from two chairs on a ski lift at the Tahoe ski resort in the USA. The accident happened when strong winds broke off the top of a tree, which then fell onto the chairlift line. The impact caused the occupants in two nearby chairs to be bounced out of their seats....Resort operators, faced with worsening winds, decided to shut the resort down a few minutes later.
Source: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/12/19/3269492/five-people-treated-for-injuries.html#ixzz18eLWX3LL
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Is this an area where it's "uncool" to put down the safety bar on chairs?
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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?
Most chairs in the US don't have safety bars.. too dangerous apparently..
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FreeBeer wrote:
Most chairs in the US don't have safety bars.. too dangerous apparently..


If it was a high speed at Sierra it would have had a bar. Sierra doesn't have major exposure on chairs so not really a surprise injuries weren't too bad. Another tree fell nearly onto liftline at Red Dog at Squaw too yesterday I believe, now that does have some hefty drops!!
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Many's the time i have been asked 'Why' when i have wanted to put the safety bar down whilst riding on chair lifts in american ski resorts.
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FreeBeer, I had heard that it was because by adding a safety bar they were taking some responsibility for your safety and could thus be sued.

Whereas without the bar they were taking no responsibility and couldn't be sued.

Makes perfect sense.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
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cc_7up wrote:
Many's the time i have been asked 'Why' when i have wanted to put the safety bar down whilst riding on chair lifts in american ski resorts.


Have you ever been asked 'why?' by a helmet wearer ? Toofy Grin
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
"uncool" to put the safety bar down? FFS

Only skied in the States once, that was at Stowe in 2003/4. Some of the lifts were so old I half expected to be sitting next to Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in their Christmas jumpers (I hear they have now been updated) but I am pretty sure they all had safety bars.

Happy days
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moffatross wrote:
cc_7up wrote:
Many's the time i have been asked 'Why' when i have wanted to put the safety bar down whilst riding on chair lifts in american ski resorts.


Have you ever been asked 'why?' by a helmet wearer ? Toofy Grin


I am a Helmet wearer.
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cc_7up wrote:
moffatross wrote:
cc_7up wrote:
Many's the time i have been asked 'Why' when i have wanted to put the safety bar down whilst riding on chair lifts in american ski resorts.


Have you ever been asked 'why?' by a helmet wearer ? Toofy Grin


I am a Helmet wearer.


So am I. Little Angel But that's not the the point & I didn't feel it necessary to qualify that I was a helmet wearer too when I asked you the question. Confused
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
In Vermont safety bars are required by state law. Very few resorts that I know of have lifts with no safety bars. Although, I did notice that when I skied in Alta no one was using them.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Don't think i've encountered a resort in N.Am without safty bars - even on the ancient lifts @ Baker...
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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
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chairlift

"The physics of a passenger sitting properly in a chairlift do not require use of a restraining bar. If the chairlift stops suddenly (as from use of the system emergency brake), the carrier's arm connecting to the grip pivots smoothly forward—driven by the chair's inertia—and maintains friction (and seating angle) between the seat and passenger."

Ah, thats reassuring to know.

Almost 25 years to the day since the Keystone accident:

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3100735
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Alternately a safety bar might inhibit your ability to jump free when a chair is sliding back down a cable into your kneecaps, you pay your money....

http://www.coloradoskihistory.com/chairlift/yan2.html
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Reading that Wikipedia entry ... and knowing how that lovely site works (i.e. it is written by people with ther own agenda to promote) suggests to me there is some sort of movement against safety bars ... I'm not going to draw a parallel with the helmet argument because i for one can see arguments both ways and regard helmet use as a pesonal choice (and yes i do wear one) but why on earth would you not use a safety bar? What possible downside is there, unless you are a total ******* and forget to raise it?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I believe CA State Law used to prohibit safety bars on chairlifts, this changed when quads started to appear and carriers sitting four or more passengers require safety bars. Double and triples generally don't have safety bars, certainly none at Kirkwood do, so if you think all chairs should have safety bars and aren't keen on heights - don't ride Chair 10 at Kirkwood! wink

I was told by lift engineers at Kirkwood that there are strict requirements for non-slip material for the chairs without safety bars, if you are sitting in the chair properly the laws of physics will keep you sitting in it even in an emergency stop situation. A violent bounce though is a different kettle of fish and there would be no guarantee that a safety bar would keep you on the chair, if it has a foot rest and downbar it might have a slightly better chance, but most of the High Speed lifts I've been on around tahoe don't have foot rests. In fact the only chair people regularly use safety bars on there is Chair 4 at Kirkwood because it is a long fixed grip quad with foot rests!

In terms of law, if a chair comes round with the safety bar down and flattens several people in the load area it is the lift companies liability. If the lift has no safety bar and you fall off, it's your fault! rolling eyes

That said the prevailing view amongst those working with lifts out that way is that in many ways safety bars on chairlifts are little more than a comfort blanket. Esp for children who can slip under the safety bar and the bar itself encourages small children to lean forward to rest on the bar. Some of these automated safety bars designed to prevent children being able to get under then look like they could prevent males making more children if anything goes wrong! Shocked
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
There are many people who wear backpacks which means they are not able to sit right back in the seat.
Maybe that is one reason why they leave the bar up Puzzled
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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?
cc_7up, Backpacks need not be a major issue, I wear a 15L ABS which is a really good fitted design and wrap-round and have never had issues on lifts. I do see some people however who look as though they are going out for a week's trekking and all they are doing on piste, and often wonder what they are lugging about! Point well made but doesnt have to be that way with careful choice of pack. Icant imagine ever leaving a bar up, whatever safety is #1 consideration.
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How many of these things actually happen in Europe where i've not been on one without a bar?

Hand up - i've fallen off one, but the bar wasn't down (but it was as i was getting off, just my dismount was a bit quicker than expected!)...
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
RichardJHJ, Ever lined up 4 abreast and been the one that didnt have a seat..................ho, ho, how everyone laughed when I ended up tangled in the netting over the gully below!! Needless to say my pals recollect the day 10 years ago, and it gets funnier everytime they bring it up......NOT!! Embarassed
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I have seen a lift stopped on more than one occasion in France because passengers hadn't put the bar down before the chair had left the lifties sight. I guess that there is some different law in Europe.
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If there is an absence of safety bars in use in USA resorts I can see that as a damn good reason not to ski there. Safety blanket or not, I for one feel much safer on a chair with a safety bar esp. with the kids. There were a couple without in Les Arc's and I hated riding them.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Megamum wrote:
There were a couple without in Les Arc's and I hated riding them.
Chairs without safety bars? Which ones?
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rob@rar wrote:
Megamum wrote:
There were a couple without in Les Arc's and I hated riding them.
Chairs without safety bars? Which ones?

None that I've ever been on. Puzzled
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Must be my mistake (according to BMF_Skier) - I thought the one above the snow park didn't have a bar - maybe it was just missing a foot rest - I recall it being a flippin' awful ride - maybe I assumed the awful ride included no safety bar as it felt so perilous - a chair without a safety bar would be awful.
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