This photo shows how bad ice can build up on chair lifts at ski hills.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Big White Ski Resort
December 29, 2022 - 8:30 AM
While a 30 Celsius rise in temperatures over two days may be welcome to many, it did force the closure of a major lift at Big White Ski Resort earlier this week.
That closure came after numerous lifts were shut down in ski hills throughout the Thompson-Okanagan region last week due to extremely cold temperatures.
Big White’s Powder Chair closed on Tuesday after temperatures rose from -30 Celsius to 3 C over 48 hours, according to a safety update posted on the Big White Ski Resort Facebook page yesterday, Dec. 28.
The closure was triggered after ice fell on two safety pins simultaneously. The hill operators were forced to evacuate people off the lift by running its backup diesel generator, which took almost an hour.
Others skiers who arrived at the lift before access trails were closed were diverted away from the lift and onto other trails.
In some cases they had to hike out of the area, according to a couple of posts on the Big White Mountain Community Facebook group, one of which said it took more than an hour with small children to get back up the hill.
“Over the past few days, we’ve had a tremendous problem with rime ice (blue ice) encasing our chairlifts, haul cables, and running wheels, which are all designed to be de-iced before the lift can start,” the Big White Ski Resort posting said. “This is a manual procedure and one that takes an extraordinary amount of experience and safety protocols.”
Crews are out on the hill by around 6:30 every morning to inspect the lifts and go through start-up procedures.
“The wind has been our enemy for some time at Gem Lake,” the posting says. “This can also affect the top of the Alpine T-bar, Ridge, Snowghost, Bullet, Cliff, Gondola, and sometimes even the Black Forest. We can assure you we make these decisions with safety as our number one priority.
“We take accountability for the situation and are reviewing on-resort protocols with our teams and lift manufacturers to ensure that, if any situational improvements can be made, then solutions will be put in place immediately.”
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