Little Whiteface Double malfunction

I'm surprised that nothing has been said yet on the forum about the little whiteface double derailing on Saturday.  They were in the process of closing it due to the high winds and the cable came off the pulley in a tower near the top.  I heard that there were only 10 people on it when it happened so that is why it was kept pretty quiet.  This is why it has been closed even with the large crowds over the weekend.  Clearly WF management does not want more bad press over the lifts but I thought I would see more discussion on this matter on the forum.

I'm starting to get very worried about the state of our old lifts and the ability to keep them running safely and efficiently.  The lifts built for the Olympics are 35+ years old.  Am I alone in this fear?

You bring up an important issue.  Did the cable come off the stanchions?  That sounds really serious.  

Thanks for the heads up on this ausable skier.

I could find nothing on the web regarding this, and Jon Lundin confirmed that no press release had been issued.

This is part of an email from Whiteface this morning:

"The Little Whiteface lift had an incident Saturday which is requiring extensive review, and will not be operational until the review is completed and parts ordered. We'll know more in a few days."

We will pass on whatever additional information we get.

ausable skier wrote

I'm starting to get very worried about the state of our old lifts and the ability to keep them running safely and efficiently.  The lifts built for the Olympics are 35+ years old.  Am I alone in this fear?

You can put the Ad Express HS3 at Gore on the list. It is approaching 30 years of use. The Gondi has extended its life, but at some point it needs to be replaced.

x10003q wrote

ausable skier wrote

I'm starting to get very worried about the state of our old lifts and the ability to keep them running safely and efficiently.  The lifts built for the Olympics are 35+ years old.  Am I alone in this fear?

You can put the Ad Express HS3 at Gore on the list. It is approaching 30 years of use. The Gondi has extended its life, but at some point it needs to be replaced.

True but the other sign of the coin is it still functions very well.

x10003q wrote

You can put the Ad Express HS3 at Gore on the list. It is approaching 30 years of use. The Gondi has extended its life, but at some point it needs to be replaced.

I once read that it was the only lift of its kind in the NE. I'm not sure if that was only for a time period or still true.
It later explained that no one spends the extra money for a detachable and only makes it a triple. Gore's unique, alright

Gotta love it's stainless steel chairs. When they get a new lift, they should sell those chairs off to the public.

fujative wrote

I once read that it was the only lift of its kind in the NE. I'm not sure if that was only for a time period or still true.
It later explained that no one spends the extra money for a detachable and only makes it a triple. Gore's unique, alright

I guess we are lucky that they didn't go for a HS double.

They are still in love w/triples - used of course.

They were pulling the chairs off the cable yesterday afternoon ... not sure if they're going to take them all off, but it sure looked that way!

Chairs were removed so that the grips could be tested. Should know more later today or Monday.

Harvey44 wrote

Chairs were removed so that the grips could be tested. Should know more later today or Monday.

Yeah ... that's what I heard today too.

Harv - any chance of getting an update from WF management on the little WF chair?  

the rumor going around is that the lift will not be fixed this season

I got this today from Bruce:

"Grips are a small part of the issue.  We've been waiting for more info from the lift company.

In short, the lift needs a major overhaul.  

Age is not the only factor. The Little Whiteface lift has more hours than any other lift.  

It has been run summer and winter for 25 years.  

We had an outside crew here again yesterday evaluating. I'll have more detailed info soon."

Sounds like that sucker may be croakin.

Definitely doesn't sound too good! A new high speed quad with mid-station would be nice!!! (I can dream!)

this sounds really bad and given orda's money issues a replacement does not seem likely as its not in the capital budget

that lift is really important as it can many times run when the gondy is on wind hold.  given its role to run when its windy and the money involved i would doubt a high speed lift will be the likely replacement

one thing bruce does not address is if the grips which are the same on the Mt run and Freeway lift are of the same design are also a potential issue now or in the future

Face4Me wrote

Definitely doesn't sound too good! A new high speed quad with mid-station would be nice!!! (I can dream!)

The ORDA board should have done this instead of the gondola. Their need to compete with Gore drove them to make the hugely expensive gondi decision rather than the much more affordable and smarter decision to replace the Little WF double and the Mtn Run double with a high speed lift. Did they think these lifts would run forever? We now see the results of their bad decision.

x10003q wrote

 rather than the much more affordable and smarter decision to replace the Little WF double and the Mtn Run double with a high speed lift. Did they think these lifts would run forever?

I for one think that fixed grip chairlift could run forever. Towers, chairs are not rusting away. The moving parts are simple and easily replaceable. Freezing rain is not affecting those lifts.

I agree that fixed grip lifts are better in challenging weather conditions

when i was at WF today i checked the grips and need to correct my earlier post - the LWF shares a common design for grips and chairs with the Freeway lift but the Mt. Run chair is of a different design.  it appears to have much newer looking grips and chairs.  

Does any one recall the history of these lifts - Mt appears newer but it would seem that it was build at the same time with the LWF chair since they are on the same towers.  Please give me a history lesson.

I am wondering if anyone has heard any rumors as to what WF is going to do about the LWF

in the spring it really sucks to have to ski to the bottom to be able to ski Cloudsplitter Glades.  Missed that lift big time yesterday.