{"id":2449883,"date":"2019-10-14T14:22:20","date_gmt":"2019-10-14T20:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=314358"},"modified":"2019-10-14T14:22:20","modified_gmt":"2019-10-14T20:22:20","slug":"despite-recent-high-profile-accidents-colorado-has-among-the-safest-most-inspected-ski-lifts-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/despite-recent-high-profile-accidents-colorado-has-among-the-safest-most-inspected-ski-lifts-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite recent high-profile accidents, Colorado has among the safest, most inspected ski lifts in the world"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Skiers and riders board the Black Mountain Express lift on Friday, Oct. 11, at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area. The lift opened for winter after passing its seasonal inspection by the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board. The safety board also will conduct an unannounced inspection this winter.<\/strong>
Liz Copan\/Summit Daily<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

FRISCO \u2014 Lift malfunctions and accidents are statistically rare<\/a>, but Colorado resorts have had a rash of high-profile issues in the past three years, including one that killed a visitor at Ski Granby Ranch<\/a> in December 2016.<\/p>\n

In 2017, a Loveland Ski Area employee was killed<\/a> while working on a magic carpet lift. Last winter, an empty gondola cabin fell off the line at Copper Mountain Resort during testing of the new lift<\/a>. And this summer, Vail Mountain\u2019s gondola broke down<\/a>, leading to the evacuation of 74 employees.<\/p>\n

Despite the recent incidents, Colorado is one of the safest places when it comes to riding lifts at ski resorts. According to an article by Outside Magazine<\/a>, Colorado is one of 20 states that has a tramway safety board or some sort of third party regulatory agency for ski lifts. In addition, Colorado is considered to have one of the two most extensive safety boards in the country.<\/a> At European ski resorts, the lift malfunction fatality rate is nine times higher than at U.S. ski areas.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board<\/a> is the state\u2019s regulatory agency for lifts at ski resorts. The board conducts two to four inspections on each lift annually, depending on the scope of activities the ski area provides. Two are licensure inspections, which give resorts permission to operate their lifts ahead of the winter and summer seasons, and two are unannounced. One unannounced inspection occurs soon after winter operations have begun, and a second is conducted in summer for ski areas that operate lifts for hikers and bikers.<\/p>\n

The inspections are done by one of eight contract engineers, according to the Tramway Safety Board<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The safety board also is responsible for tracking accidents. It requires ski areas to report injuries resulting from lift accidents and publishes its findings<\/a> following an investigation.<\/p>\n

According to records provided to the Summit Daily News by the safety board, there have been 34 lift accidents that resulted in evacuation or injuries in Summit County since 2014:<\/p>\n