SUNDAY RIVER, Maine — A ski lift is closed off after it mysteriously collapsed at Sunday River.
Officials said no one saw what happened, so it’s not clear what caused the foundation failure.
Darcy Lambert said their lift maintenance manager found the “Spruce Peak Triple” lift in a state of disarray on Sunday evening.
“It broke away from the ground and then it allowed the rope tension weight to pull the steel bull wheel down so with it, [so] it brought the foundation down,” Lambert said.
She said it was a domino effect from there.
“At that angle the haul rope was able to come off of the bull wheel, which lowered the chairs to the ground,” Lambert said.
Lambert said the lift is only used in the winter, so no one was on it at the time. She said it was installed in 1986 but has gone through several renovations, and passed a load test and inspection last fall.
“All of our lifts are inspected by the state on an annual basis, but there’s also a lot of other protocols and upkeep that happen just aside from the state,” Lambert said. “I’m surprised that it happened.”
Anna Sysco said she grew up on this mountain, and has no reservations about returning this winter.
“I think inevitably there’s going to be issues with everything,” Sysco said. “And that’s part of the inherent risk of skiing and being a part of a big infrastructure that you know has a lot of moving parts.”
Officials at Sunday River said they are waiting for the results of the investigation to decide if they’ll replace or repair the lift.