That there is one cold shower. Link Temperature was 7 degrees Several were hurt, one girl jumped and has bruises head to toe.
“We’re in a situation where we have put together, and you guys did it for our administration…President Obama’s administration before this. We have put together, I think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics,” Pres. Select, Joe Biden
“Let’s go, Brandon” Kelli Stavast, 2 Oct. 2021
January 09, 2022, 11:47 PM
YooperSigs
Apres ski shower included with your day pass!
End of Earth: 2 Miles Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles
January 10, 2022, 01:36 AM
corsair
The lawyers are going to have fun with this one, all sorts of people are going to be called to the stand...management, maintenance, lift ops, etc.
Hate to be the person on that one chair, seeing the action ahead of you, and having the chair stop right over that geyser.
January 10, 2022, 02:59 AM
Jelly
Is that some kind of new Navy SEAL training?
January 10, 2022, 06:07 AM
gearhounds
I know they likely stopped the chair lift because multiple people were getting blasted but that poor guy that ended up perfectly centered in the geyser couldn’t have had any worse luck.
“Remember to get vaccinated or a vaccinated person might get sick from a virus they got vaccinated against because you’re not vaccinated.” - author unknown
January 10, 2022, 06:45 AM
Mars_Attacks
What an absolute clown show.
____________________________
Eeewwww, don't touch it! Here, poke at it with this stick.
January 10, 2022, 08:09 AM
trebor44
What, no shut off valve? No STOP loading? Put a 'bucket' over it! There are so many solutions that it defies imagination! Put then you have to have humans capable of THINKING! Gotta love that 'snow making' equipment!
--------------------------------
On the inside looking out, but not to the west, it's the PRK and its minions!
January 10, 2022, 09:40 AM
Hildur
A few years back I spoke with a maintenance guy at a ski resort. He told me that their biggest cost was electricity. While the lifts use a good amount it's the water pumps that have to be on 24/7 to maintain water pressure. Most mountains have lines that pull water directly from a nearby lake and that water has to be delivered overcoming distance and elevation.
I'm not sure what kind of shutoffs there are but clearly by the water pressure it's not something a guy with a wrench can do in a couple minutes. Shutting down the pumps isn't as simple as throwing a switch and it's very costly to turn on and turn off.
IMO the biggest failure was ski patrol not coordinating with the lift operator. That guy getting blasted for as long as he did is criminal.
January 10, 2022, 10:38 AM
corsair
quote:
Originally posted by trebor44: What, no shut off valve? No STOP loading? Put a 'bucket' over it! There are so many solutions that it defies imagination! Put then you have to have humans capable of THINKING! Gotta love that 'snow making' equipment!
A bucket?!?...you see how much pressure is shooting out of that pipe? It was high-enough to release a ski and it nearly launched the next rider as the water column pushed up against his snowboard. Then there's the next guy who was left dangling from his chair and may have passed-out
Clearly coordination between lift-ops and patrol was...lacking. They may have tried to halt the lift and get that pipe shut off, but the momentum in the fly-wheel may have continued movement leaving each halt with a rider over the geyser...in 7F weather. Effing clown show.
January 10, 2022, 10:45 AM
Russ59
Park the skidoo over it or at least deflect the flow?
A sheet of plywood?
That water pressure and volume is much greater than the usual 40 PSI domestic flow from a 3/4" connection. My guess is 1 1/2" and 50-100 PSI.
P229
January 10, 2022, 10:46 AM
tatortodd
quote:
Beech Mountain released a statement to WSOC, noting that resort staff did not give skiers the instruction to jump.
Assholes. It's 7 degrees outside and your employees stranded your customers directly above high pressure water spray.
quote:
Originally posted by Hildur: I'm not sure what kind of shutoffs there are but clearly by the water pressure it's not something a guy with a wrench can do in a couple minutes. Shutting down the pumps isn't as simple as throwing a switch and it's very costly to turn on and turn off.
Nonsense. I'm in oil & gas and work with insanely high pressure liquids (including water) in piping and have withdrawn water from under the ice in lakes in the arctic circle. A ski lift water pump ESD would be a piece of cake for shutting off the pump and having check valves periodically would prevent static head from having enough pressure to spray the chairlift.
More likely the fault is management systems. If they did a HAZID they would've considered spraying high pressure water on their customers directly above their piping and had a ESD (electric kill switch for the pump) for an employee to hit (i.e. zero wrenches would be involved).
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
January 10, 2022, 10:52 AM
tatortodd
quote:
Originally posted by Russ59: Park the skidoo over it or at least deflect the flow?
A sheet of plywood?
That water pressure and volume is much greater than the usual 40 PSI domestic flow from a 3/4" connection. My guess is 1 1/2" and 50-100 PSI.
According to Beech Mountain Resort's website, they have 830 feet of vertical rise. If the lake is at the base and the snow making water line runs to the top then the elevation head pressure alone is 359 psi. Friction and other factors would require them to be pumping at higher pressures than that.
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
January 10, 2022, 10:53 AM
pbslinger
Stopping a chair lift is complicated by timing skiers getting off. Maybe you just inform them to stay on and don't ski off. When you decide to stop the chairs, you wouldn't imagine or foresee that a chair would stop right in the stream. I imagine there was some problems coordinating between observers on the ground and the switch operator. I doubt if this situation is one they've foreseen and trained a response for. I'd like to know how they would respond following this experience.
The pressure and volume may not have been stoppered by a snowmobile, it may have taken a snow cat or a skid steer. By the time you figured that out and got it there, dozens would have been douched.
January 10, 2022, 11:10 AM
gpbst3
The person in the chair lift appears unconscious. How did that happen?
January 10, 2022, 11:13 AM
bubbatime
Well that is the damdest site. Ive been to that resort many times when I was younger.
______________________________________________________ Often times a very small man can cast a very large shadow
January 10, 2022, 11:15 AM
1s1k
Why would you jump and risk a possible injury or death? Sure it’s a bummer getting soaked but once you get down the mountain go inside grab a stiff drink and sit by the fire to dry out and you’re good.
January 10, 2022, 11:21 AM
mrvmax
quote:
Originally posted by tatortodd:
quote:
Beech Mountain released a statement to WSOC, noting that resort staff did not give skiers the instruction to jump.
Assholes. It's 7 degrees outside and your employees stranded your customers directly above high pressure water spray.
quote:
Originally posted by Hildur: I'm not sure what kind of shutoffs there are but clearly by the water pressure it's not something a guy with a wrench can do in a couple minutes. Shutting down the pumps isn't as simple as throwing a switch and it's very costly to turn on and turn off.
Nonsense. I'm in oil & gas and work with insanely high pressure liquids (including water) in piping and have withdrawn water from under the ice in lakes in the arctic circle. A ski lift water pump ESD would be a piece of cake for shutting off the pump and having check valves periodically would prevent static head from having enough pressure to spray the chairlift.
More likely the fault is management systems. If they did a HAZID they would've considered spraying high pressure water on their customers directly above their piping and had a ESD (electric kill switch for the pump) for an employee to hit (i.e. zero wrenches would be involved).
I've been in chemicals for 27 years and that's normal for us. I doubt a ski resort has people doing hazops and PHA's but I could be wrong. Not sure how OSHA affects them.
January 10, 2022, 11:22 AM
tatortodd
quote:
Originally posted by 1s1k: Why would you jump and risk a possible injury or death? Sure it’s a bummer getting soaked but once you get down the mountain go inside grab a stiff drink and sit by the fire to dry out and you’re good.
Water pressure could be beating your head and body against the metal lift. It looked like one of the people on the chair lift was unconscious.
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
January 10, 2022, 11:27 AM
tatortodd
quote:
Originally posted by mrvmax: I've been in chemicals for 27 years and that's normal for us. I doubt a ski resort has people doing hazops and PHA's but I could be wrong. Not sure how OSHA affects them.
That's why I classified it as a management system problem. I've been skiing in 2 countries, and everywhere I've been they:
have ESDs for the lifts for both the operator at the top and operator at the bottom so they're at least familiar with ESDs and controls.
route their utilities (e.g. power and water) at the base of the chair lift towers so the possibility of spraying customer with high pressure water is there.
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
January 10, 2022, 11:50 AM
tatortodd
quote:
Originally posted by Hildur: I'm just relaying what the maintenance guy told me. He was quite clear that the pumps just can't be turned on and off.
All that water pressure compounded with gravity has to go somewhere. That somewhere is backfeeding into the pump systems which are designed for water to go out, not in and would damage them. Then there's the issue of what to do with all the excess water returning to the pump station and holding pools.
That's his explanation and it made sense to me.
Perhaps the place he worked was configured like that, but it's idiotic.
Pumps can be turned off with an ESD. It can be as simple as a button near the pump to as complex as the pump and button in 2 locations miles apart. I've done both.
Backfeeding is prevented by check valves which are an off the shelf item and available in low, medium, high pressure designs.
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
