Winter Park Resort experienced a malfunction with its gondola lift on Saturday, which led to the evacuation of over a hundred skiers and snowboarders via rope. According to Denver7, the incident occurred shortly after noon, and by approximately 1 p.m., evacuations were in progress. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported as the ski patrol carried out the evacuation, completing the operation around 4 p.m. the same day.
A Winter Park spokesperson detailed the situation, explaining that an operational malfunction caused the gondola to stop, triggering the safety evacuation protocol. Specifically, between 150-175 individuals had to be lowered to safety by ski patrollers who ascended lift towers and shimmied across to reach each cabin, as reported by 9NEWS. While the spokesperson assured that no one was in distress during the event, the sheer scale of the evacuation required methodical precision and coordination.
The malfunction was later attributed to a damaged rocker arm on one of the towers, as confirmed by Winter Park officials. The Colorado Tramway Safety Board and the gondola manufacturer, Leitner-Poma, are investigating the root cause of the failure. The resort also stated that a replacement part was being sourced from Grand Junction to repair and revive the lift as swiftly as possible, but an opening date was not specified, according to Denver7.
Guests at the Winter Park during the incident praised the ski patrol for their swift action. Derek Petrie, who witnessed the event, as obtained by CBS News Colorado, said, "Winter Park Ski Patrol are an incredible group. They worked quickly and a calm professionalism to get dozens of people down the mountain. Heroes!" Despite the gondola's closure the following day, riders were able to access other mountain trails via alternate lifts.
