Spruce Peak @ Sunday River falls over

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  • newpylongnewpylong
    Posts: 2,493
    Ugh. Lucky for them only what 3 trails off of Spruce if they can't fix by ski season? Still, 3 good trails and they are popular.
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,479
    Sunday River Chairlift Collapses - NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com

    The State of Maine, MountainGuard insurance, and Sunday River lift employees are investigating the failure of a top terminal footing over the weekend, the resort announced this evening.

    The Spruce Peak Triple top terminal footing became detached from the ground and tipped over, dropping some chairs to the ground and severely damaging the summit ramp and lift operator's building.

    At present, Sunday River does not know if it will repair or replace the chairlift this year. The Boyne-operated resort is owned by CNL Lifestyle Properties, which has been attempting to exit the ski business. CNL installed a new quad chairlift and refurbished a second chairlift after two of its Borvig chairlifts had incidents at Sugarloaf in recent years.

    The Spruce Peak Triple was installed at Sunday River in 1986, when Les Otten was rapidly expanding the ski area. The 4,205 foot long by 1,205 vertical foot Borvig is the only lift that reaches the top of the Spruce Peak complex. A loading carpet was installed in 2014, allowing the lift to operate at slightly faster speeds.

    The Spruce Peak incident is the latest in a series of failures of aging Borvig chairlifts. Suicide Six in Vermont is replacing its Borvig double after the lift was shuttered in consecutive seasons due to issues discovered in special inspections, the most recent one prompted by a cross arm failure at Timberline Resort in West Virginia. Sugarloaf replaced its King Pine base terminal in 2015 after the quad's rollback mechanism failed, resulting in 7 injuries. In December of 2010, multiple people were injured at Sugarloaf when the Spillway East Double deroped.

    Borvig manufactured fixed grip lifts from the the 1960s through the early 1990s. Over two dozen lifts with Borvig components remain in operation in five New England states.

    http://www.newenglandskiindustry.com/viewstory.php?storyid=456
    - Sam
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,479
    Spruce Peak Triple

    Chairlift terminal and deckOn Sunday evening, July 10, 2016, Sunday River Resort's lift maintenance manager discovered that the foundation of the top terminal of the Spruce Peak Triple chairlift had become detached from the underlying ground. The detachment caused the top terminal to be pulled downhill, which released tension on the haul rope and caused the rope and chairs to lower to the ground between some of the lift's towers.
    The reason for the foundation failure is currently unknown and is under investigation by the State of Maine Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety, MountainGuard insurance, and Sunday River's engineers. Access to Spruce Peak has been closed to all public access as a safety precaution and as requested by the Maine Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety while the investigation is underway.

    Chairlift terminal laying on sideThe Spruce Peak Triple does not operate in the summer and there were no injuries as a result of the incident, which was unwitnessed. Sunday River is committed to the safety of all of its guests and employees, and will issue updates here as information becomes available. Following the investigation a report will be made public by the State of Maine Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety.

    Decisions on repairing or replacing the lift have not been made at this point and will depend on several factors, including the results of the investigation. The resort is committed to moving forward as quickly as possible.

    The Spruce Peak Triple is a three passenger fixed grip chairlift built in 1986 and manufactured by Borvig. The chairlift is located on Spruce Peak and is 4,205 feet long with a vertical of 1,205 feet. The chair operates in the winter months only, across 18 lift towers, and has the capacity to carry 1,700 guests per hour. Like all of Sunday River's chairlifts, it receives daily inspections for safety when in operation, in addition to weekly, monthly, and yearly maintenance and testing. The lift is also inspected annually by the State of Maine Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety, with the last inspection and load test performed in fall 2015.

    http://sundayriver.com/news
    - Sam
  • bubblecufferbubblecuffer
    Posts: 312
    OMG.  Shocking
  • rickbolgerrickbolger
    edited July 2016 Posts: 2,962
    On the surface of it, I have to disagree with Rocket's assessment that this is a "failure of an aging Borvig chairlift."  Looks to me like soil stability issue?  Quick info on ground stability, site engineering etc, here's a pretty good one page primer 

    of course they can't plan for everything, I imagine.

    In extreme cases, they don't plan at all...

    image
  • trackbikertrackbiker
    Posts: 319
    From the bottom photo on the Sunday River website http://sundayriver.com/news it appears that the concrete foundation failed. Could have been faulty concrete mixture or cracks from freezing water below the surface.
  • rickbolgerrickbolger
    Posts: 2,962
    they're saying the entire thing became detached from the ground, but who knows

     the foundation of the top terminal of the Spruce Peak Triple chairlift had become detached from the underlying ground
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,479
    It does seem as if it is not a loft failure, but a foundation failure. It's just an unfortunate coincidence that it happened to a Borving chairlift.
    - Sam
  • abubobabubob
    Posts: 648
    X_X
    http://tee.pub/lic/SkiClassicNH
  • CannonballCannonball
    Posts: 681
    rickbolger said:

    they're saying the entire thing became detached from the ground, but who knows


     the foundation of the top terminal of the Spruce Peak Triple chairlift had become detached from the underlying ground

    In the picture of the wreckage you can see all the rebar sticking out from the bottom of the concrete section that detached.  Presumably, that rebar was sticking into more concrete not just sticking into the ground.  So it appear that the concrete split at ground level and the tension of the haul rope pulled it over.  Scary stuff!
  • newpylongnewpylong
    Posts: 2,493
    Without seeing the hole it is impossible to tell. The shape of the concrete at the bottom of the block looks like it was poured onto rock and that rebar may have been anchored into bedrock prior to pouring.
  • NJSnowmakerNJSnowmaker
    Posts: 30
    The rebar sticking of the bottom was drilled and pinned into the ledge rock that the lift sits on. The material that holds the rebar into the hole failed due to a lot of water running for years in the area.
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    edited July 2016 Posts: 5,479
    - Sam
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,479

    Spruce Peak Triple

    * July 20, 2016 *

    Preliminary findings by MountainGuard engineers have identified concrete grout failure as a possible cause of the Spruce Peak Triple terminal detachment. Concrete grout had been used to adhere steel reinforcement bars which secured the foundation of the lift terminal to bedrock. MountainGuard's engineers will return to the resort on Thursday, July 21 to take core samples from the bedrock where concrete grout is present to use in its tests. Earlier this week, Sunday River was given permission by MountainGuard to de-tension the haul rope, which in turn lowered all remaining chairs on the Spruce Peak Triple. The site remains closed as a safety precaution during this on-going investigation. No decision has been made yet on repairing or replacing the lift.

    http://www.sundayriver.com/news

    - Sam
  • CannonballCannonball
    Posts: 681
    I assume Spruce Peak won't be back up and running this season.  I don't ski SR as much as I used, so I don't exactly remember all of the routes. Doesn't this present challenges for working your way across the mountain?  As well as the obvious loss of all that terrain. 
  • ski_itski_it
    Posts: 4,667
    Cannonball said:

    I assume Spruce Peak won't be back up and running this season.  I don't ski SR as much as I used, so I don't exactly remember all of the routes. Doesn't this present challenges for working your way across the mountain?  As well as the obvious loss of all that terrain. 

    Not really. You lose the tops of four trails and 2 other "trails". Being a mid-mountain chair it did make it easier to get to Aurora, Oz & Jordan if you wanted to go down Vortex Double Black. But I recall it was a pretty busy chair as people luv the blues of Risky Business & American Express as they are short & sweet, having better snow being higher up, IMHO. IIRC you can still get over North Peak to A, Oz & J from Barker if you go down the green. Or you have to take the 2 North Peak chairs
    ISNE-I Skied New England | NESAP-the New England Ski Area Project | SOSA-Saving Our Ski Areas - Location SW of Boston MA
  • obienickobienick
    Posts: 1,435
    Yeah I recall those cruisers quite popular when I was there. Idk what the turn around on a new chair is, but I'd bet it will get fixed or replaced by X-mas.
  • NJSnowmakerNJSnowmaker
    Posts: 30
    The chairlift has been condemned by the insurance company and will not be reinstalled. Already looking into replacements to be installed for this season
  • obienickobienick
    Posts: 1,435
    Yikes.  

    What about Locke?  Presumably the same contractor/grouting materials would have been used 2 years prior.
  • ChuckstahChuckstah
    Posts: 1,417
    ski_it said:

    Cannonball said:

    I assume Spruce Peak won't be back up and running this season.  I don't ski SR as much as I used, so I don't exactly remember all of the routes. Doesn't this present challenges for working your way across the mountain?  As well as the obvious loss of all that terrain. 

    Not really. You lose the tops of four trails and 2 other "trails". Being a mid-mountain chair it did make it easier to get to Aurora, Oz & Jordan if you wanted to go down Vortex Double Black. But I recall it was a pretty busy chair as people luv the blues of Risky Business & American Express as they are short & sweet, having better snow being higher up, IMHO. IIRC you can still get over North Peak to A, Oz & J from Barker if you go down the green. Or you have to take the 2 North Peak chairs
    You can indeed get from Barker across to Aurora via 3Mile Trail, but it is a long slog on natural snow and often not open.  You can also ski Easy Street from Barker to the chondola to access Aurora and beyond but this is also far from ideal.  For  consumer confidence, as well as navigation around the resort,  the lift should surely be replaced as soon as possible.  After riding Spruce the last two days it operated this year, and then this failure, I for one won't ride the lift again until it's replaced.   They need to take a long, hard look at the Locke chair as well.  It doesn't instill confidence in me at all. 
  • obienickobienick
    Posts: 1,435
    Doesn't 3 Mile dump you off too low?
  • ChuckstahChuckstah
    Posts: 1,417
    obienick said:

    Doesn't 3 Mile dump you off too low?

    No.  You can follow 3 mile to Second Mile to Sensation to Aurora, but it is not a fun run at all, and most of it relies on natural.
  • ski_itski_it
    Posts: 4,667
    I think you can get to Quantum Leap Double Black from behind the North Peak Lodge, but IIRC, it as you said a slog and a little up hill maybe? IDK been a long time.
    ISNE-I Skied New England | NESAP-the New England Ski Area Project | SOSA-Saving Our Ski Areas - Location SW of Boston MA
  • ChuckstahChuckstah
    Posts: 1,417
    ski_it said:

    I think you can get to Quantum Leap Double Black from behind the North Peak Lodge, but IIRC, it as you said a slog and a little up hill maybe? IDK been a long time.

    Yes,  you can get to Quantum Leap from near the NP lodge as well Paradigm, a blue,  Problem with Quantum Leap is that they rarely blow snow on it even though it has working pipes, and Paradigm gets skied off in an hour or two if it's the only route open to the west.    
  • newpylongnewpylong
    Posts: 2,493
    You can also ski down to Sensation (green) to get down to the West - it has snowmaking as well.

    If they don't have Spruce I would think all 3 trails would get more attention.
  • TomWhiteTomWhite
    Posts: 2,579

    CONCRETE GROUT FAILURE POSSIBLE CAUSE OF SUNDAY RIVER LIFT INCIDENT

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    SAM Magazine—Newry, Maine, July 20, 2016—Investigators think they may have discovered why the upper terminal of the Spruce Peak Triple seemed to uproot from the ground at Sunday River on July 10.SundayRiverLift 2 emailsize

    According to the resort, MountainGuard engineers said it appears that the concrete grout used to adhere steel reinforcement bars to the foundation of the terminal and the bedrock below failed. They plan to return to the resort tomorrow, July 21, to take core samples from the bedrock where concrete grout is present for further tests.

    No one saw the incident occur, and no one was injured.

    Investigators believe that, after the foundation of the terminal uprooted, the weight and tension of the haul rope pulled the terminal downhill. It tipped the bullwheel up 90 degrees. That allowed the haul rope to release, and many chairs to lower to the ground.

    Sunday River’s lift maintenance manager discovered the slack rope and lowered chairs on the evening of July 10. The resort, State of Maine Tramway Board, and MountainGuard insurance have been working to understand the cause of the incident since.

    On Monday, Sunday River was given permission by MountainGuard to de-tension the haul rope, which in turn lowered all remaining chairs on the Spruce Peak Triple. The site remains closed as a safety precaution during the ongoing investigation.

    Decisions on repairing or replacing the Spruce Peak Triple will depend on several factors, including the results of Sunday River and MountainGuard engineering reports. The resort said it intends to act as quickly as possible on whatever decision is made following the conclusion of the investigation.

  • PeterPeter
    Posts: 186
    NJSnowmaker said:

    The chairlift has been condemned by the insurance company and will not be reinstalled. Already looking into replacements to be installed for this season

    Source?



  • NJSnowmakerNJSnowmaker
    Posts: 30
    All I can say is someone very reliable in the industry.
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,479
    They are reportedly working on strengthening the Locke Mountain Triple now.
    - Sam
  • DrJeffDrJeff
    edited August 2016 Posts: 1,329
    They are reportedly working on strengthening the Locke Mountain Triple now.
    Doing a little more than just strengthening it! An entirely new top terminal


    And Spruce is being replaced with a fixed grip, carpet loading new Doppelmayr triple

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