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Always put your bar down.

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borealridah
Posts: 259 - Karma: 86
Yesterday at squaw the most mindblowing scary thing happened. We were on kt22 with our ski team and about halfway up the lift we got hit by an avalanche. It took my buddy right off the lift and down 40+ feet and in the avalanche. If our bar was down he would not have a broken shoulder. He is lucky he survived.always put your bar down
Dec 24 2012 9:04PM
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scientist
Posts: 6920 - Karma: 348
ehhh, leaving the bar up when im sure there is ample signage to put the bar down. thatll be a toss up. not to familiar with american negligence or waiver laws though.
Dec 25 2012 6:06PM
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Stickity
Posts: 7750 - Karma: 769
i've been told waivers don't actually mean anything and are just to convince you that you can't sue when really you can.
Dec 25 2012 6:24PM
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Stickity
Posts: 7750 - Karma: 769
but that's just what i've heard
Dec 25 2012 6:26PM
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scientist
Posts: 6920 - Karma: 348
thats definitely not true in Canada. good, well written waivers are generally effective in court, so long as they are presented properly and signed under the right circumstances..
Dec 25 2012 6:34PM
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borealridah
Posts: 259 - Karma: 86
totally hear you there. i never rode with the bar down but from now on i sure as hell am
Dec 25 2012 6:39PM
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borealridah
Posts: 259 - Karma: 86
yeah. thats exactly what im saying
Dec 25 2012 6:41PM
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deleted5
Posts: 14507 - Karma: 13,510
It doesn't matter because the fact is ski resort had dangerous avalanche conditions, they should of inspected and blasted before they open the lifts to the public.
Dec 25 2012 7:19PM
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scientist
Posts: 6920 - Karma: 348
they probably did. There is quite a papertrail that follows AC on ski resorts. if there were inadequate conditions for opening that chair, it will certainly be brought to light with the paperwork...in which case, like you said, thatd be gross neg and squaws accountable.
Dec 25 2012 7:31PM
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Abu_Hajaar
Posts: 2751 - Karma: 3,908
My local hill doesn't even have bars.
Dec 25 2012 7:40PM
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Ksteez666
Posts: 227 - Karma: 123
Well said Lawrence, Yea there is really no need to put the bar down. sure if your riding the peak chair and its super windy you might put it down to feel safer but unless your leaning over it you wont fall off, I jsut never think about putting the bar down it only goes down when someone else does it. Especiallymy local mountain where i ski on weekdays, there is nothing that could cause an avalanche, but even on whistler where i live on weekends i don't put the bar down cuz that just aint thug
Dec 25 2012 11:08PM
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Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,014
no reason not to put the bar down
Dec 25 2012 11:10PM
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Ksteez666
Posts: 227 - Karma: 123
It's not something i even think to do when i get on the chair
Dec 25 2012 11:19PM
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RIP_leos_shack
Posts: 718 - Karma: 3,371
I'm trying to think how this is even possible to get swept off a chair by an avalanche. Most chairlifts never get closer than 10 feet above the ground so it would need to be a huge amount of snow to even come close. The only other way I see this being possible is if the slide had enough power to move a tower and shake the cable enough to boot someone off which would effectively destroy the lift as in this video:

Dec 26 2012 12:33AM
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ChasingFlakes
Posts: 822 - Karma: 1,544
Theres a big difference between the two slides. Wet slide like the one in france doesn't produce a powder cloud not does it get very high off the group. A storm slab letting go and washing over a roll could get some air time and knock some one off the lift. its not the first time this has happened

Dec 26 2012 12:40AM
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Transient
Posts: 20 - Karma: 16
Woah we almost went to Squaw that day, went to Alpine instead and heard about it that next day, gnarly stuff. In Australia the lifties go batshit insane if you don't put your bar down, I was mindblown when I got here.
Dec 26 2012 1:21AM
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t_rob
Posts: 6433 - Karma: 11,459
Alright Stella Liebeck.
Dec 26 2012 1:23AM
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californiagrown
Posts: 9794 - Karma: 2,014
the lift goes over a cliff/spine area at squaw called "the fingers". the slide was set off above the fingers, and shot off the cliff hitting the chair while it was in the air.

Dec 26 2012 1:30AM
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SkierPT
Posts: 2205 - Karma: 4,858
Man east coast has some advantages I guess
Dec 26 2012 2:02AM
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B.Aussie
Posts: 5852 - Karma: 4,531
I lold
Dec 26 2012 9:09AM
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RIP_leos_shack
Posts: 718 - Karma: 3,371
Well that's just some crazy shit. I usually don't even think about putting the bar down unless there's someone on the chair that wants it, but then again I usually don't think about being swept off by a cascading wall of snow.
Dec 26 2012 1:10PM
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volvotom
Posts: 2045 - Karma: 712
That's minus GNAR points.
(putting the bar down, although I guess season ending injury is minus points too).

Glad no one was seriously injured.
Dec 26 2012 1:32PM
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CartelCrew
Posts: 46 - Karma: 37
Your buddy should have stuck the landing.
Dec 26 2012 7:01PM
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CaelW
Posts: 400 - Karma: 108
This. I have a better chance of getting mugged on the lift by some guy skiing in jeans and an eagles letterman before i get swept away by an avalanche
Dec 26 2012 7:40PM
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Sparta
Posts: 227 - Karma: 329
dude, youre so cool. so amazingly bad ass to not put the bar down. wow, i wish i had the courage that you have. what fucking reasonable person would not put the bar down? why is keeping the bar up so cool? you think you are making girls wet by keeping the bar up or something? wow, look at me... i can sit here with the bar up. pretty cool, huh? check me out being so impervious to danger that I sit here with the bar up. fucking first-world bad asses. so lame.
Dec 26 2012 7:41PM
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zues
Posts: 6434 - Karma: -5,331
i live on east coast. this thread is invalid
Dec 26 2012 9:28PM
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Dr.Dickless
Posts: 2620 - Karma: 1,392
^ clearly an East Coast skier
Dec 26 2012 9:50PM
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cydwhit
Posts: 5075 - Karma: 43,049
was gonna laugh at this till I realized it was the kid from Squaw, good point and congrats on being alive, unofficial has been scarring me recently...
Dec 26 2012 10:03PM
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Ksteez666
Posts: 227 - Karma: 123
You took me way out of context there...
Dec 26 2012 10:36PM
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Amadeus.
Posts: 3050 - Karma: 382
god damn snowboarders.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/12/snowboarders-cause-avalanche-that-injures-2-skiers-official-say.html

"Authorities believe snowboarders caused an avalanche at Squaw Valley Resort that injured two people Sunday morning, officials report.

The avalanche was reported at around 9:50 a.m. on a section of the KT-22 peak.

Officials say that three snowboarders triggered the avalanche, with a ski patroller and several witnesses seeing the slide.

Two skiers were treated at the scene, although they weren’t buried by the avalanche. A search was launched for other possible victims but none were found.

All people were accounted for by 11:50 a.m.

A 39-year-old woman was taken to the clinic and released, while a 16-year-old boy had to be taken to the Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee for a shoulder injury.

“We would like to thank the Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski patrols and dog teams, as well as all of the volunteers for their quick and effective response,” Amelia Richmond, Squaw Valley’s PR manager, said in a statement."
Dec 26 2012 10:36PM
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E-Nix
Posts: 382 - Karma: 187
I don't think this is really an issue on the East Coast, unless the ice suddenly melts and causes a tsunami.
Dec 26 2012 10:44PM
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ScuffDUFF
Posts: 2027 - Karma: 143
haha cant tell if serious or stupid. Has nothing to do with being cool. Has more to do with not being a pussy i guess. Bars are more of a nuisance if you have been riding chairlifts forever and are completely comfortable riding them.
Dec 28 2012 11:14AM
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Jelle
Posts: 337 - Karma: 715
Shit, is there that many people that doesnt put the bar down? I was raised putting it down by my parents and now its just a routine. Everyone in europe puts the bar down, havent seen one not doing it. And sometimes the lifts are so crazy high up, where there is maybe 20-30 meters down and if the lift stops and you slide off..damn, scary thought.

Dec 28 2012 11:48AM
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RIP_leos_shack
Posts: 718 - Karma: 3,371
The reason why: Many people (especially the older generation) grew up riding lifts like this which don't even have safety bars, so when you ride a lift that has one, it's natural to assume that it's optional.

Click for larger image
Dec 28 2012 12:03PM
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zues
Posts: 6434 - Karma: -5,331
lmao. well written
Dec 28 2012 6:17PM
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