Chairlift breaks, spills 2 people at Washington ski resort, officials say

Two people were injured after a chairlift detached from its line at a Washington ski resort, according to a news release from the resort.

At 11 a.m. on Dec. 5, a chair carrying two people broke from the lift line on Chair 1 at 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort in Chewelah, the release said. Chair 1, also called Bonanza, is a 6,600-foot-long 1972 SLI double, which “has been the subject of replacement speculation in recent years due to its length and age,” according to Lift Blog.

Ski patrol immediately attended to the guests who fell and escorted them to the patrol room, the release said. They sustained minor injuries, according to the release.

Operators stopped the lift for about 20 minutes for inspection before running the chair and safely unloading the rest of the guests, the release said. The resort is investigating and the chair will remain closed until further notice, according to the release.

“We will be working with industry experts and regulatory agencies to identify and rectify the issue,” the release said.

Chairlift inspections must be done in the winter and summer in Washington, according to The Spokesman-Review.

It’s not the first time Chair 1 has malfunctioned — a Spokane couple got stuck halfway up the lift for the second time in January, KREM reported. The couple told the TV station they saw the chair in front of them fall off with people aboard the first time they got stuck, according to KREM.

49 Degrees North “is the largest ski area in the United States without a high speed lift,” Lift Blog says.

This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Chairlift breaks, spills 2 people at Washington ski resort, officials say."