Ski Resorts
Updated: Blackcomb Excalibur Gondola Collapse
Thanks to JB for pointing out breaking news from Whistler: one of the towers on the Blackcomb Excalibur gondola has collapsed, trapping 53 and injuring a few guests. Thankfully, there were no fatalities. The accident comes just days after Whistler opened their record-breaking peak-to-peak gondola.
According to local media coverage, one of the supporting towers which holds up the gondola collapsed. Apparently the accident happened near the base of the mountains, close to the creek and houses the gondola crosses as it begins its ascent up the mountain. The resort is attributing the accident to a “structural failure”.
Anyone who has been up Blackcomb has been up this gondola. I myself have been up it dozens of times, and was planning to use it in a few weeks when I went to Whistler again. It boards less than a hundred metres from where the Whistler gondola boards, and is used by almost everyone to get up Blackcomb mountain.
You can follow the Globe and Mail coverage here, which includes video. We’ll keep you posted on developments.
UPDATE 1: Seattle PI has some excellent coverage despite their tacky “still want to go there on your holiday vacation?” comment. They are reporting all gondolas stayed on the cables. Net result is a lot of people stuck in the air. They also link to this photo of a gondola hanging just above the creek, it looks like at least one car lost a fair bit of altitude while still remaining on the cable. This is not good news for a resort that just launched a new gondola and is getting ready to host the 2010 Winter Games.
UPDATE 2: The Whistler Blackcomb site contains an “official incident report”, which can be found here. The evacuation is complete. According to a statement on the site:
“The Excalibur Gondola evacuation was completed at 5:51 pm this evening. Fifty-three guests were safely evacuated from the lower line of the Excalibur Gondola after a structural failure on tower 4 caused the gondola to cease operation.
We are very thankful that no-one was seriously injured in this incident. A full investigation by Whistler Blackcomb and the BC Safety Authority is currently underway to determine the cause of the failure.”
The incident was restricted to only one part of the gondola, according to the report:
“There is an upper and lower section to the Excalibur Gondola. The failed tower 4 on the lower section was secured by a crane and Whistler Blackcomb Ski Patrol and the Whistler Fire Department immediately implemented an emergency lift evacuation procedure. The upper section of the gondola, independent of the lower section, was unaffected by the incident and was cleared immediately of guests by normal procedure.”
){kind=link}
Discussion
Post a comment