A chairlift accident that sent Maine skiers tumbling about 30 feet Tuesday could happen in Colorado, though state inspection records show that it’s a fairly uncommon occurrence.
Since January, there have been 13 derailment incidents in Colorado, records show, but none had a skier falling. The most recent occurred Nov. 17 at Aspen Highlands when a tree blown by high winds derailed a lift cable.
The last time a Colorado skier was ejected from a chairlift because of a derailment was in December 2007, records show. The skier was uninjured.
Colorado records show none of the lifts that derailed since 2007 were manufactured by Borvig, the maker of the lift that had the problem at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine.
Colorado Ski Country USA, a ski-industry trade association, said there are no Borvig lifts in the state. The one at Sugarloaf was installed in 1975 and modified in 1983.
Ski resorts in Colorado must pass a pair of annual inspections — one of them an unannounced surprise review during the ski season — by the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board, a division of the state Department of Regulatory Agencies.
The lifts are inspected a third time if they are operated in nonsnow months.
“Lift incidents of this nature are very rare,” said Melanie Mills of Colorado Ski Country. “Our members are aware of the (Maine) incident, and while (it) is undergoing investigation, no one is jumping to conclusions.”
There have been 17 incidents in Colorado this year in which a skier fell from a chairlift, records show, several of them involving children. In nearly every case, the cause was skier error, such as leaning over while on the lift to retrieve a falling glove.
David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com
