119 replies to this topic

[Emax]

Kicking Horse, on Dec 19 2008, 07:50 PM, said:

Perosnally,

Every tower should be hammered once a week or every 2 weeks... :)

Aside from the downside of having to hire a full-time hammer crew, the hammer test isn't nearly conclusive enough. It's simply too subjective. As Rob mentioned, the (partial) concrete fill in his tower skewed the "bonk test".

[keystoneaddict]

Don't we all think Whistler/BC has pretty much completely lost their reputation by now? Quicksilver, now this.... what's next?

[Peter]

keystoneaddict, on Dec 19 2008, 10:42 PM, said:

Don't we all think Whistler/BC has pretty much completely lost their reputation by now? Quicksilver, now this.... what's next?

No. The Quicksilver incident was part of widespread design failure by Yan. This latest incident seems like it could have happened anywhere and W-B followed all protocols called for by the Doppelmayr Service bulletin issued in December 2006.

[Emax]

keystoneaddict, on Dec 19 2008, 11:42 PM, said:

Don't we all think Whistler/BC has pretty much completely lost their reputation by now? Quicksilver, now this.... what's next?

Two ears; two eyes; one mouth. Do the math.

[Peter]

Upper Line Of Excalibur Gondola Re-Opens Saturday

Five points of access to mountains; full upload capacity of 12,000 guests per hour available as holiday season gets underway

The BC Safety Authority has reinstated the operating permit for the upper line of Blackcomb Mountain's Excalibur Gondola following inspections this week. Repair work has commenced on the lower line and crews are working to get this section of the line open as quickly as possible.

Whistler Blackcomb opens Saturday morning with five points of access, and a full upload capacity of just over 12,000 guests per hour. The upper line of the Excalibur Gondola will re-open tomorrow, just in time for the holiday season to kick into gear.

The Excalibur Gondola consists of an upper and lower line, separated by a terminal at Base 2. Guests will be able to access the upper line of the Gondola via Base 2. Parking lots 6 and 7 are directly adjacent to Base 2, providing access to Blackcomb Mountain. Other access is via The Wizard Express at the base of Blackcomb Mountain, the Fitzsimmons Express and the Whistler Village Gondola from Whistler Village, and the Creekside Gondola at the Creekside base. Access between Whistler and Blackcomb is also available via the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola.

Tickets will be available at all bases including Base 2 and ski outs will be available to Creekside, Whistler Village from Whistler Mountain, and the Blackcomb base. The Village Run from Blackcomb's Base 2 to the village, is expected to open next week.

The extended weather forecast from Environment Canada calls for periods of snow Sunday with accumulation of five to 10 centimetres, a mix of sun and cloud with scattered flurries on Monday, and snowfall accumulation of 10 to 15 centimetres on Tuesday.

Updated information about Tuesday's incident on the lower line of the Excalibur Gondola will continue to be available for guests and media from the homepage at www.whistlerblackcomb.com. The web site also includes further information about Whistler Blackcomb's operating plan, open lifts, snow conditions, grooming and open terrain.

[dapole]

I was on mountain today, and the upper portion is running. Meanwhile they have cleared all the cabins from the lift line, and it looks like they are working hard to get the issue fixed. I will try to update as I see more happening...

[2milehi]

Kicking Horse, on Dec 19 2008, 07:50 PM, said:

Perosnally,

Every tower should be hammered once a week or every 2 weeks... :)

Personally,

Every lift maintenance personnel should be hammered once a week...

[aug]

2milehi, on Dec 21 2008, 05:45 AM, said:

Personally,

Every lift maintenance personnel should be hammered once a week...

x2

[2milehi]

Aussierob, on Dec 18 2008, 01:11 PM, said:

I won't be around but I'll see if I can get a photo or two. We will be repairing the existing tower.

Thanks for you input Aussierob! Has it been determined how ~5 feet of water was able to enter a "sealed" tower tube?

[Aussierob]

Haven't heard the cause yet.

[vonrollskyway1]

dapole, on Dec 20 2008, 11:19 PM, said:

I was on mountain today, and the upper portion is running. Meanwhile they have cleared all the cabins from the lift line, and it looks like they are working hard to get the issue fixed. I will try to update as I see more happening...

how did they get the gondolas off with the tower missing?any pictures of what they are doing to the lift??

[floridaskier]

http://www.parkrecor...nes/ci_11272849

Article saying that the Deer Valley gondola is "not susceptible" to the same type of failure, which sounds like a bunch of crap to me. The Park Record thought it was important to ask DV about it, since Garaventa CTEC merged with Doppelmayr five years after the DV gondola was built. They didn't say anything to The Canyons, whose most important lift is a Poma gondola. Seems a little stupid to ignore other manufacturer's towers. Wasn't the other lift that had ice break a tower a Riblet?

[Peter]

The other one was a Hall, and since Hall was bought by Von Roll which was bought by Doppelmayr, the media has equated the two. Also apparently identical lifts that happen to carry chairs instead of gondolas are also not at risk.

[Aussierob]

We ran the lift in reverse and parked all the carriers from the lower line on the park rail at mid station. The missing tower was not needed for this.

vonrollskyway1, on Dec 21 2008, 09:18 AM, said:

how did they get the gondolas off with the tower missing?any pictures of what they are doing to the lift??

[iwmmug]

2milehi, on Dec 21 2008, 06:45 AM, said:

Personally,

Every lift maintenance personnel should be hammered once a week...

Indeed......Furthermore the Bong test should be performed only by qualified personel!

[2milehi]

Aussierob, on Dec 21 2008, 07:24 PM, said:

We ran the lift in reverse and parked all the carriers from the lower line on the park rail at mid station. The missing tower was not needed for this.

Curious, did you do this on electric or evac? Also did you loose the comm line?

[Aussierob]

Electric, The comm was damaged but not sure if we need to replace it. I've been off for a few days.

[TRosenbaum]

Eyewitness report: On 22-Dec at 4pm local time I noticed that the original parts of damaged tower (tower 4) had been reassembled with shiny new bolts. It appears ready to go except that the sheave aseemblies were not yet in place. The tower head was in place. I also saw workers on the roof of the condo near the line rebuilding the damaged wooden chimney.

[Peter]

Excalibur Gondola Will Fully Re-Open December 24

BC Safety Authority and Doppelmayr testing protocol complete

The BC Safety Authority has reinstated the operating permit for the lower line of Blackcomb Mountain's Excalibur Gondola following inspections Tuesday. Repair work on tower 4 was completed Monday and testing took place throughout Tuesday in accordance with BC Safety Authority and Doppelmayr test protocol. The Excalibur Gondola will be in full operation December 24.

"We are extremely pleased with the efficiency in which we have been able to return this lift to operation," says Wayne Wiltse, Whistler Blackcomb's lift maintenance manager. "The tower has been rebuilt, and the cable has been inspected. They have both been non-destructively tested to ensure they meet all code requirements. A thorough inspection, as outlined in Whistler Blackcomb's Safety Management Plan, and following procedures recommended by the lift manufacturer, has been undertaken to ensure the safety of our guests. In addition, the BC Safety Authority has been on-site Tuesday doing its own inspection before reinstating our operating certificate."

In accordance with the lift manufacturer's test protocol, Whistler Blackcomb lift maintenance crews perform a "sounding" test on the towers to check for the presence of water. This test was considered an effective way to check for the presence of water in towers. Following the failure of tower 4, all Doppelmayr lift towers across Whistler Blackcomb were checked for water build-up. This was done first by Whistler Blackcomb lift maintenance crews on Tuesday night after the incident. A secondary inspection was undertaken by Whistler Blackcomb in conjunction with the BC Safety Authority the next morning before operations commenced for the day. Since then, BC Safety Authority has issued a Safety Order requiring all BC ski resorts to inspect all lift towers for water, regardless of manufacturer. In light of the Excalibur incident, Doppelmayr has revised its test protocol to now include concrete filled towers.

The investigation into last week's tower failure remains ongoing. The cause of the tower failure was confirmed by early the next morning, December 17, and was due to an unusual situation called "ice-jacking." Water had accumulated within the tower, then transformed to ice to a point whereby the pressure from the ice created a rupture that separated the two sections of the tower. The force of the ice expansion and the subsequent rupture has been estimated at 800 tonnes of pressure. Prior testing had not revealed this ice build-up due to the tower being concrete-filled.

"Our commitment to safety at Whistler Blackcomb is uncompromised," says Doug Forseth, Whistler Blackcomb's senior vice president of operations. "We have been working around the clock with the authorities and independent experts to understand what happened here last week. Through these efforts, a new Safety Order from the BC Safety Authority, and a safety bulletin from the lift manufacturer has been distributed to ski resort operators in BC and to the industry, in the wake of this incident."

[RibStaThiok]

"The investigation into last week's tower failure remains ongoing. The cause of the tower failure was confirmed by early the next morning, December 17, and was due to an unusual situation called "ice-jacking." Water had accumulated within the tower, then transformed to ice to a point whereby the pressure from the ice created a rupture that separated the two sections of the tower. The force of the ice expansion and the subsequent rupture has been estimated at 800 tonnes of pressure. Prior testing had not revealed this ice build-up due to the tower being concrete-filled."


Well that is interesting... How much of it was full of concrete??