CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Sugarloaf ski resort officials said Monday that the King Pine quad chairlift will be out of operation for the foreseeable future following a mechanical failure Saturday that led to seven injuries.
While at least two skiers on the mountain Monday vowed to never again use the aging lift unless it is replaced, they and others on the slopes said they still have confidence in the resort.
“It was installed in 1988,” Jonah Baumm, 20, of Boothbay Harbor, said Monday. “That lift’s old, it’s rickety. I’m definitely concerned.”
Baumm was in line Monday to get on the Superquad chairlift with Brittney Meservier, 23, also of Boothbay Harbor. Both used the King Pine lift Friday — a day before Saturday’s accident in which seven people were injured and 204 skiers evacuated from the lift by Sugarloaf Ski Patrol. The resort said Sunday that a gear box that connects the lift’s motor to the advancing cable malfunctioned, and backup brakes didn’t work.
While both Baumm and Meservier said they would not use the lift unless it is replaced, they said they are confident that Sugarloaf officials were doing all they could to make sure equipment is maintained and safe for skiers.
“I think they’re doing the best they can with what they’ve got,” Baumm said. “I know they did put a ton of money into this resort.”
The accident occurred around 11:30 a.m. Saturday when the lift rolled backward after the malfunction.
Some skiers and snowboarders on the lift were injured when it struck them near the lift terminal. Others suffered injuries when they apparently jumped some 10 feet to the ground. The more seriously injured were taken by ambulance to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, and one was transferred to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.
Sugarloaf spokesman Ethan Austin said Monday that he could not release specifics on those injured because he is bound by confidentiality rules.
“To the best of my knowledge, two of the three treated at the hospital ended up leaving that same day and a third was transferred to Central Maine Medical Center,” Austin said Monday. “Honestly, I have no other update than that.”
Sugarloaf officials are working with the state of Maine Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety to investigate the accident, Austin said. Outside engineers and lift maintenance teams from Sugarloaf’s parent company, Boyne Resorts, of Michigan, also will be on site to investigate the root cause of the mechanical failure, according to Austin. The lift has a redundant brake system built into it, he said.
“Fortunately, one worked, but they didn’t all work as they were supposed to,” he said.
ACCIDENTS HAPPEN
There were very few skiers at the mountain Monday, but Austin said it’s difficult to know how much of that sparse turnout was concern about the lift situation.
Monday was extremely cold and windy, and as a non-holiday weekday, wouldn’t typically get nearly as much traffic as a weekend. Some of the other lifts were closed as well, for weather or lack of use, though none for mechanical issues, he said.
Many of those who did turn out Monday, though, took the accident in stride.
Nathan Sanborn, 40, and his wife, Heather, 38, said they think Sugarloaf officials do everything possible to ensure equipment is safe and that Saturday’s accident was just that — an accident.
“I think accidents happen, and I’m sure that the mountain is working extremely hard on its inspections,” Heather Sanborn said, as she headed toward the Super Quad, which is Sugarloaf’s largest chairlift. “It’s probably safer to get on this lift than it is to get in my car. I grew up skiing here every winter since 1976 — since I was born — and I’m a third generation Sugarloafer, and things happen.”
Nathan Sanborn said his only concern is that Saturday’s accident was the second one to occur at the mountain in the last five years. In 2010, eight skiers were injured when high wind caused a derailment, and five chairs toppled 30 feet to the ground.
But Sanborn said he believes Sugarloaf does everything it can to make sure the equipment is safe for skiers, and he does not think Saturday’s accident was a result of maintenance failure.
“I think it is just an old lift,” he said.
At Sugarloaf’s base lodge, Jim Bowen, 60, of Denver, Colo., who is a volunteer on the ski patrol at Winter Park near Denver, said he does not have concerns about equipment safety.
He said he believes Sugarloaf does what it is supposed to do to maintain equipment.
“It was an accident,” said Bowen. “We rode that lift earlier that day. I don’t think they want this kind of thing to happen. I’m sure they’re abiding by whatever the rules and regulations are.”
Also in the lodge, Zach Ronan, of Boothbay Harbor, and his cousin, Rachael Dolloff, of Baltimore, Md., both 24, said they weren’t afraid to use chair lifts Monday.
Dolloff said she had heard about Saturday’s accident and did not know a lot about it.
“I think it was a fluke,” she said of the accident. “I think it’s going to take a lot of unfortunate events to trigger something like that in the first place.
“(Sugarloaf officials have) been there for a while, and I trust they’re going to take precautions and proper safety measures to ensure our safety. We talked about the accident but it didn’t deter us from coming.”
Ronan said that while he was en route to Sugarloaf earlier Monday, the chairlift accident was on his mind.
“But as far as going up today, I’m not afraid — not at all,” he said. “I have full faith in their safety measures here. They’re a class establishment.
“Nothing would prevent me from going today. It was a freak accident. They’ve been here for years. Of course, it’s unfortunate. I hope everybody’s safe. You look at some of the other lifts in Maine, and they’re rackety and rickety. I feel safe.”
LINGERING QUESTIONS
Austin said “safety is the first and foremost thing in everything we do” at Sugarloaf.
“We’re not taking this incident lightly — we’re taking it incredibly seriously,” he said. “We know people will have questions. Our first priority is investigating why this happened, as rigorously as we can, and sharing what we find with everyone.”
He said reaction to the accident has “run the gamut.”
“Some people are pretty upset and just concerned, and I think it’s understandable. Some people have been very supportive, and we’re very grateful for that.”
Meservier, the skier from Boothbay Harbor, said she believes Sugarloaf officials are doing what they can to ensure equipment is maintained for safety, but within the last couple of years, they learned some maintenance was not kept up.
“Hopefully, they don’t find that out with this one as well,” she said.
Saturday’s accident occurred on the east side of the mountain — not visible from the base lodge — where most trails are for advanced skiers, although some trails are for intermediates. The trails in that area are accessible by other lifts, he said, and are not closed as a result of the King Pine lift accident.
“For the foreseeable future, it’ll be closed,” he said of the lift.
Portland Press Herald staff writer David Hench contributed to this story
Amy Calder — 861-9247
Twitter: @AmyCalder17
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