Just took a look at the Prance report, and saw nothing off the Summit Quad. What's happening up there?

TIA.

Probably this...

Whiteface Mountain Summit Quad Chair derails; 47 safely evacuated


Wilmington, N.Y. – A strong gust of wind was to blame Saturday afternoon when a quadruple chair became entangled with a communications line at Whiteface Mountain resulting in a derailment and subsequent automatic stoppage of the lift.
The incident occurred on the Summit Quad Chair at approximately 3:20 p.m., and saw 47 skiers and snowboarders evacuated safely by trained Whiteface personnel. The process calls for the evacuees to be lowered to safety by rope.
Jay Rand, Whiteface Mountain Manager, reported that all guests were off the lift by 5:20 and in the base lodge by 6 p.m.
Rand continued to state that 80 Whiteface staff members were involved in the procedure, which extended from employees who practice evacuation procedures, to administrators, to the mountain’s marketing department and concessionaire.
Ski Patrol, Host Patrol and Snowsports School were also involved in securing the safety and comfort of those affected.
A number of the visitors were lowered to the snow before dark and opted to ski and ride down – some escorted - to the base lodge. However, the remainder, who were removed after dark, was transported to the base area by snow cats.
Once inside, the guests were fed and served warm drinks.
The Summit Quad delivers skiers and riders to the uppermost reaches of the venue, and is widely acclaimed for its views and varied terrain.
The chair is expected to be closed for several days while mountain crews restore the cable.
The mishap occurred 10 minutes prior to the Summit Quad’s daily 3:30 closing.

-ORDA-

Man-o-man, just saw this on the news. too bad. luckily nobody was hurt

Lbtchnlgs wrote:

Man-o-man, just saw this on the news. too bad. luckily nobody was hurt

Agreed ... good thing the weather wasn't too bad!!!

Great job by the staff getting everyone off safely. It's nice to know that if there's ever a problem, we can count on the staff to keep us safe.

Thanks!

Lady Kilowatt wrote:

Probably this... Whiteface Mountain Summit Quad Chair derails; 47 safely evacuated Wilmington, N.Y. – A strong gust of wind was to blame Saturday afternoon when a quadruple chair became entangled with a communications line at Whiteface Mountain resulting in a derailment and subsequent automatic stoppage of the lift. The incident occurred on the Summit Quad Chair at approximately 3:20 p.m., and saw 47 skiers and snowboarders evacuated safely by trained Whiteface personnel. The process calls for the evacuees to be lowered to safety by rope. Jay Rand, Whiteface Mountain Manager, reported that all guests were off the lift by 5:20 and in the base lodge by 6 p.m. Rand continued to state that 80 Whiteface staff members were involved in the procedure, which extended from employees who practice evacuation procedures, to administrators, to the mountain’s marketing department and concessionaire. Ski Patrol, Host Patrol and Snowsports School were also involved in securing the safety and comfort of those affected. A number of the visitors were lowered to the snow before dark and opted to ski and ride down – some escorted - to the base lodge. However, the remainder, who were removed after dark, was transported to the base area by snow cats. Once inside, the guests were fed and served warm drinks. The Summit Quad delivers skiers and riders to the uppermost reaches of the venue, and is widely acclaimed for its views and varied terrain. The chair is expected to be closed for several days while mountain crews restore the cable. The mishap occurred 10 minutes prior to the Summit Quad’s daily 3:30 closing. -ORDA-

Yikes!

Again, thanks very much for the info. I never thought it would be something like that.

So what's going on at the Summit right now, are the slopes open and skiable if the lift was running. I want to know cause I'm driving up there from Maryland on the 18th and really want to ski off the summit. Everytime I've been there it's been early season and they only had 1 handful of slopes open.

BTW I'll probally be skiing alone for the entire trip so if anyone wants to meet up let me know. I'd classify myself as a high intermediate skier who is recovering confidence after a knee injury in CO. last March. Using the current "level guide" I'd but myself at a 7.

http://skiing.about.com/od/downhillskiing/a/abilitylevels.htm

If you have skins, bring them. It is a short easy trek to the top from where the gondola drops you off. Sure it is a little work but the fresh turns are worth it. If you do so, bring a partner or two just in case something happens. Unfortunately, if you are seen by a ski patroller they ( depending on the patroller) will scold you ( best case) or take your ticket ( worse case). So try to be somewhat clandestine about your upper mountain adventures. Saw beautiful looking tracks on the niagra today. Happy new year everyone! 4-7 inches should start it out right.

January 18 is a long way off, so I wouldn't be too worried about the summit lift for those dates yet. Barring some strange prolonged January thaw I suspect the conditions should be pretty good and the summit quad should be fixed come MLK weekend. I'm sure the terrain is skiable, what with a half a foot of powder last night and more on the way tomorrow. Most everything off the summit quad was open back on the 22nd. A few of the trails closed after an unusually warm day brought some rain, but then they mostly reopened until the quad went out.

Face4Me wrote:

Lbtchnlgs wrote: Man-o-man, just saw this on the news. too bad. luckily nobody was hurt Agreed ... good thing the weather wasn't too bad!!! Great job by the staff getting everyone off safely. It's nice to know that if there's ever a problem, we can count on the staff to keep us safe. Thanks!

Very true! Thank you WF staff! Heard 2nd hand that the last skiers evac'd were impressed with how well it all went. 47 skiers in 2 hours...after sunset. If I ever have to be evac'd, hope it happens at WF. I bet that the summit will be open soon. Still...kinda makes me want to ski with a rope.

That's what I was kinda wondering. I check the conditions daily and have seen the top of the mountain blinking on and off like a string of christmas lights recentlly and was trying to determine if the slopes where closing or if the lift wasn't running or what. We are definitly coming up regardless of weather.

My wives family lives up in Tupper Lake so we will be visiting them regrardless of the weather (assuming we can make it up there). Can't wait! Good times!! Looking forward to stoping by Andirondac Steak and Seafood in LP and picking up a growler or 2 of tasty beverages. Are there any other local breweries up there that I should visit? I'm a home brewer and enjoy sampling others wares

It should be open fairly soon. After the evac "The Snow God" told me he thought it would be open today. That didn't happen of course, but I've heard from a couple of solid sources that it shouldn't take long to be sure everything is safe and ready to go. Keep your fingers crossed.

It's open now. S4L just called me on his way up it to let me know about the great conditions I am missing today.

That was mighty nice of him

highpeaksdrifter wrote:

It's open now. S4L just called me on his way up it to let me know about the great conditions I am missing today.

Did it just open at 2:30?? What are the conditions up there? The WF site said 2" as of 10:30 this AM. We are getting pounded up here in the St. Law. valley. 6' yesterday and about 10' today, so far, and still coming down quite hard. What a waste of good powder!!!!!! We are planning on skiing tomorrow, WF site says 6"'- 10" overnight tonight.

oldskibum wrote:

highpeaksdrifter wrote: It's open now. S4L just called me on his way up it to let me know about the great conditions I am missing today. Did it just open at 2:30?? What are the conditions up there? The WF site said 2" as of 10:30 this AM. We are getting pounded up here in the St. Law. valley. 6' yesterday and about 10' today, so far, and still coming down quite hard. What a waste of good powder!!!!!! We are planning on skiing tomorrow, WF site says 6"'- 10" overnight tonight.

Takeittotheslopes also called and said he was getting waist deep powder shots. Why do my friends like to torment me so?

Anyways, more snow is in the forecast for tonight, the Xmas week patrons are gone, so I’m thinking your in for an epic day at WF tomorrow.

Make sure you post on how good it was, OSB, I like to be tormented.