Member of the Month

theabortionator
April, 2025

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

Anyone been on a chair roll back?

profile picture
Doc.Stomp
Posts: 86 - Karma: 1,374
Pretty scary stuff, whos had one
9 years ago
70 4
profile picture
John18_6
Posts: 7313 - Karma: 49,168
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/762690/Chairlift-Rollback-Sugarloaf-Mountain-3-21-15
9 years ago
12 0
profile picture
270on420out
Posts: 7522 - Karma: 51,280
No, but my brother and several friends were once on a lift that caught on fire.
9 years ago
13 0
profile picture
Mingg
Posts: 14034 - Karma: 50,633
I was working when one of our lifts rolled back(9 chairs). It was one of my first days working. Scary shit. Luckily it was a slow day and the 9 chairs were unoccupied... shit was fucked. I'm pretty sketched about lifts after that tbh. At least fixed grip lifts.
9 years ago
9 2
profile picture
Jaybrtn
Posts: 375 - Karma: 643
Holy shit.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/752309/Chairlift-Rollback-Test
9 years ago
9 0
profile picture
Kbob94
Posts: 1319 - Karma: 8,616
JaybrtnHoly shit.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/752309/Chairlift-Rollback-Test

^ this. They showed this to us during training before we started working as lifties. Scary shit.
9 years ago
5 0
profile picture
.Roockley.
Posts: 3870 - Karma: 4,115
thankfully not

if you were in a chair rollback, would you jump off or ride it? (things to take in to account: height of chair, how far up the lift you are, snakes)
9 years ago
6 0
profile picture
Mingg
Posts: 14034 - Karma: 50,633
.Roockley.thankfully not

if you were in a chair rollback, would you jump off or ride it? (things to take in to account: height of chair, how far up the lift you are, snakes)


Definitely jump off. The chairs swing violently around the bullwheel when they get going fast. You'd easily get bucked off and who knows what your body would hit. At least when you jump you can anticipate the impact and stuff. Pop your skis off/unstrap your board and jump. Then roll off to the side so no one lands on you lol
9 years ago
7 1
profile picture
KravtZ
Posts: 6637 - Karma: 2,629
MinggDefinitely jump off. The chairs swing violently around the bullwheel when they get going fast. You'd easily get bucked off and who knows what your body would hit. At least when you jump you can anticipate the impact and stuff. Pop your skis off/unstrap your board and jump. Then roll off to the side so no one lands on you lol


Yea rollbacks are pretty dam scary. I would think jumping with your skis on would be better and lessen the impact....more surface area to take the blow. Would suck knowing at that point in time your prbably getting a broken leg(s) though.
9 years ago
8 0
profile picture
FridgeBangers
Posts: 138 - Karma: 1,042
how to do roll backs happen exactly?
9 years ago
12 0
profile picture
SammyDubz
Posts: 2168 - Karma: 7,222
THEDIRTYBUBBLENo, but my brother and several friends were once on a lift that caught on fire.


sounds lit
9 years ago
38 0
profile picture
elliot.scribner
Posts: 36 - Karma: 92
FridgeBangershow to do roll backs happen exactly?


They are more common on old school fixed line lifts. Basically what happens is the driveshaft or gearbox on the lift fails, causing all of the weight of the people on the upward slope to quickly rush down the hill because gravity is pulling all of their added mass down (since the other side has no mass on the downward facing lifts). Lifts have emergency brakes, but those can fail too, and they take a some time to kick in. Highspeed quads have much better technology behind them, nearly eliminating rollback risk.
9 years ago
14 0
profile picture
DBack1321
Posts: 410 - Karma: 485
JaybrtnHoly shit.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/752309/Chairlift-Rollback-Test


I don't know what mountain that is, but I remember reading about this. They did a whole set of tests on a lift they were getting rid of. I think at one point they set it on fire haha and dropped a tree on the cable.
9 years ago
5 0
profile picture
losh
Posts: 1126 - Karma: 4,704
MinggI was working when one of our lifts rolled back(9 chairs). It was one of my first days working. Scary shit. Luckily it was a slow day and the 9 chairs were unoccupied... shit was fucked. I'm pretty sketched about lifts after that tbh. At least fixed grip lifts.


At kb??
9 years ago
2 0
profile picture
OregonDead
Posts: 7057 - Karma: 26,430
It's happened to me a couple of times. Pretty freaky but we only rolled back and then stopped. Once we went backwards and stopped a few times. I was a ways up from the bottom terminal each time. No way is it smart to jump in that situation since you could die jumping and in my experiences no one got hurt by just hanging on.
9 years ago
2 0
profile picture
Mingg
Posts: 14034 - Karma: 50,633
jlens05At kb??


Yup, North/Slalom quad at the beginning of February last season.
9 years ago
2 0
profile picture
Plankton
Posts: 3226 - Karma: 6,840
MinggI was working when one of our lifts rolled back(9 chairs). It was one of my first days working. Scary shit. Luckily it was a slow day and the 9 chairs were unoccupied... shit was fucked. I'm pretty sketched about lifts after that tbh. At least fixed grip lifts.


wouldn't all the chairs roll back? that doesn't make sense
9 years ago
3 0
profile picture
Mingg
Posts: 14034 - Karma: 50,633
Planktonwouldn't all the chairs roll back? that doesn't make sense


Nahh. I'll try to explain this better but if Daph dips in she'll be able to really say whats up. So when a chair rolls back it's because the brakes for the lift/cable fails and the lift/cable starts rolling backwards. When I said 9 chairs, I meant the cable/lift went backwards and 9 chair lengths went around the bullwheel(big wheel at top and bottom). So all the chairs went backwards, but we stopped the rollback after 9 chairs had gone back around the bullwheel, if that makes any sense.
9 years ago
6 0
profile picture
Plankton
Posts: 3226 - Karma: 6,840
MinggNahh. I'll try to explain this better but if Daph dips in she'll be able to really say whats up. So when a chair rolls back it's because the brakes for the lift/cable fails and the lift/cable starts rolling backwards. When I said 9 chairs, I meant the cable/lift went backwards and 9 chair lengths went around the bullwheel(big wheel at top and bottom). So all the chairs went backwards, but we stopped the rollback after 9 chairs had gone back around the bullwheel, if that makes any sense.


oh that makes sense. i thought you meant only 9 chairs in total moved and i was like what....but yeah the worst part is going around the bullwheel
9 years ago
6 0
profile picture
50Kal
Posts: 2836 - Karma: 5,541
I would consider jumping off a chairlift if it rolled back more than one chair length or depending how fast it was gaining speed.
9 years ago
5 0
profile picture
Daph
Posts: 5978 - Karma: 5,011
NS's resident lift mechanic here to chime in based on responses

First off, lifts can roll back for a multitude of reasons. The highly publicized sugarloaf incident was due to a failure in the gearbox, the component that transfers the power from the electric motor and high speed shaft into the low speed shaft which turns the bullwheel. The first two failsafes which stop the lift if this happens failed so it didn't stop until the third failsafe deployed. Sometimes bearings fail, shafts break, lifts get overloaded, brakes don't do their job etc. Like someone said before, gravity is working against lifts. All the weight of the chairs and cable and whatnot want to go downhill, and more weight is on the uphill traveling side of a lift when people are loaded. Every lift has a bunch of safety mechanisms designed to stop the lift before the rollback gets as catastrophic as the one in that training video, that lift was a result of every safety and brake being removed and letting gravity do all the work. The sugarloaf incident is about as bad as it would ever get on a lift that is "safe for public" and I put that in quotes because there is a lot of debate in the industry right now as to whether or not that particular lift was according to code. I won't delve into that whole shitstorm because it's not my place, but simply put, if ski areas actually adhere to the current safety requirements, no lift should ever roll back faster or more distance than that one did.

Best way to handle a rollback is to not jump unless you are very close to the bottom (like less than a tower away). If you jump higher up you can derail the lift which would be even worse than a rollback in some cases. When you're near the bottom and can hop off easily with a small distance to the ground, that will not mess up the lift too bad and you don't risk being sent around the bullwheel. But like I said, rollbacks more than 50 ft are extremely rare. People always panic if there's a quick e-stop and the lift rolls back a few feet, THIS IS NORMAL. Don't panic unless the rollback exceeds 10 feet, and even then, the lift will stop before shit looks anything like the training video.
9 years ago
11 0
profile picture
Deepskier
Posts: 3267 - Karma: 4,833
JaybrtnHoly shit.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/752309/Chairlift-Rollback-Test


Oh my god that's scary shit Id def jump but with my skis and as we roll back choose the lowest point to jump quick.
9 years ago
1 0
profile picture
Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,018
to be honest, lifts in general terrify me

but i fight through my fear every day and ski
9 years ago
2 0
profile picture
skierman
Posts: 8593 - Karma: 9,406
Yeah brah, more time to blaze it up, its awesome.

For everyone saying "JUMP OFF!" you're all idiots. There are many safeguards in place to prevent a dangerous rollback, with the last resort being a giant cement block that drops seizing up the lift from moving (or similar on other lift designs). Stay on the chair and enjoy the ride. Not once has a rollback happened like in that video where they removed all safeguards to show what could never happen. The only injuries reported from rollbacks are from the morons jumping off the lift.

Actually you know what? If you're stupid enough to think jumping off the chair is a good idea, go for it. Darwin in full force.
9 years ago
1 16
profile picture
ABskier
Posts: 136 - Karma: 56
if this ever happens to me my plan is to stay on the chair until it's close to the wheel, then quickly hang off the chair facing forwards until i'm a few feet from the ground. then jump off and ski away like a boss.
9 years ago
3 0
profile picture
losh
Posts: 1126 - Karma: 4,704
MinggYup, North/Slalom quad at the beginning of February last season.


Hahaha kb is sketch
9 years ago
2 0
profile picture
tris10radeka
Posts: 267 - Karma: 665
i was on a pretty scary one a few years back. i kicked my skis off in case it went back all the way. luckily i was close to the top and they got it under control quickly. Even though no one got hurt it was some scary shit
9 years ago
1 0
profile picture
50Kal
Posts: 2836 - Karma: 5,541
skiermanYeah brah, more time to blaze it up, its awesome.

For everyone saying "JUMP OFF!" you're all idiots. There are many safeguards in place to prevent a dangerous rollback, with the last resort being a giant cement block that drops seizing up the lift from moving (or similar on other lift designs). Stay on the chair and enjoy the ride. Not once has a rollback happened like in that video where they removed all safeguards to show what could never happen. The only injuries reported from rollbacks are from the morons jumping off the lift.

Actually you know what? If you're stupid enough to think jumping off the chair is a good idea, go for it. Darwin in full force.


The last full roll back in Colorado was 1987. Tie hack on buttermilk. People were thrown like those weights. it can happen but rarely does these days because of good mechanics. The rollback last year (can't remember the resort) is prime example when your machine is too old or poor mechanics.
9 years ago
1 0
profile picture
Skibumsmith
Posts: 5469 - Karma: 12,372
A friend of mine who was a lifty at the time almost had to bail off a lift because the grip (it was a fixed grip) starting slipping while he was riding up.
9 years ago
2 0
profile picture
FrenchFry
Posts: 969 - Karma: 3,432
JaybrtnHoly shit.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/752309/Chairlift-Rollback-Test


Oh my fucking god. Everyone would die.
9 years ago
2 0
profile picture
Daph
Posts: 5978 - Karma: 5,011
SkibumsmithA friend of mine who was a lifty at the time almost had to bail off a lift because the grip (it was a fixed grip) starting slipping while he was riding up.


Sketch!
The normal range for fixed grips to slip in a season is 4"-3', anything more is considered abnormal. We migrate the chairs back 18" every summer and slip test them using a ram and a compressed nitrogen tank. I've seen grips jump a tiny bit when slip tested but never a scary slip like you're describing. I would shit my pants if that happened to me.
9 years ago
4 0
profile picture
chodo
Posts: 274 - Karma: 918
Never experienced roll back, but i was at Sugarloaf in 2010 when the chair lift derailed and fell. That shit was scary!
9 years ago
4 0
profile picture
Skibumsmith
Posts: 5469 - Karma: 12,372
YoungDaphSketch!
The normal range for fixed grips to slip in a season is 4"-3', anything more is considered abnormal. We migrate the chairs back 18" every summer and slip test them using a ram and a compressed nitrogen tank. I've seen grips jump a tiny bit when slip tested but never a scary slip like you're describing. I would shit my pants if that happened to me.


Ya that was definitely not supposed to happen. Maintenance had to spend the rest of the day double checking and tightening all the grips.
9 years ago
2 0
profile picture
GayWolf420
Posts: 38031 - Karma: 128,886
Peter.to be honest, lifts in general terrify me

but i fight through my fear every day and ski


ur a big beautiful strong black woman who dont need no man, peter. keep on truckin
9 years ago
2 0
profile picture
Anesteezia
Posts: 239 - Karma: 1,386
I had to get evacuated from a chair once and now I just expect them to fail every time I get on.
9 years ago
1 0
profile picture
arnie_grape
Posts: 3457 - Karma: 11,909
FridgeBangershow to do roll backs happen exactly?



basically lifts should have 3 brakes. a hydraulic service brake, a mechanical emergency brake, and a mechanical anti-rollback device. the only reason a rollback should ever happen is if the mechanics are shit and don't have their lifts up to code standards. which happens a lot in the states because they can perform major alterations without inspection and old lifts don't need to be altered when the code is updated.
9 years ago
2 0
profile picture
SethPistol
Posts: 142 - Karma: 19
and then... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-izqbRRzOE
7 years ago
1 0
profile picture
TRVP_ANGEL
Posts: 12692 - Karma: 119,631
SethPistoland then... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-izqbRRzOE


epic bump
7 years ago
3 0
profile picture
corona
Posts: 12845 - Karma: 33,290
SethPistoland then... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-izqbRRzOE


Holy fucking shit.
7 years ago
0 0
profile picture
firecrotch
Posts: 1471 - Karma: 5,508
SethPistoland then... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-izqbRRzOE


hoooooly fucking hell some of those people got launched into the stratosphere
7 years ago
0 0
profile picture
cadebucket
Posts: 298 - Karma: 991
SethPistoland then... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-izqbRRzOE


Oooooooooof
7 years ago
0 0
profile picture
yungQ
Posts: 178 - Karma: 847
john18061806https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/762690/Chairlift-Rollback-Sugarloaf-Mountain-3-21-15


this is my home mountain. king pine lift fuck up
7 years ago
1 0
profile picture
dubmasterskanka
Posts: 828 - Karma: 2,959
.Roockley.thankfully not

if you were in a chair rollback, would you jump off or ride it? (things to take in to account: height of chair, how far up the lift you are, snakes)

No way do you stay on. Find the lowest point with a slope and Huck yourself off. I work Catskinner at Blackcomb and there is literally 2 spots to jump off so you'd get fucked if you missed them.
7 years ago
4 0
profile picture
The.Fish
Posts: 2269 - Karma: 4,997
The 6 pack chairlift at the snowmass park rolls back a little every time it stops. I was so scared the first time it happened because i didn’t know it was normal.
7 years ago
1 0
profile picture
NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,410
Came here for the Georgia rollback. Fucking Jesus Christ: https://youtu.be/B_cmw2bIJEw
7 years ago
3 0
profile picture
TRVP_ANGEL
Posts: 12692 - Karma: 119,631
GRaboneSnowNo way do you stay on. Find the lowest point with a slope and Huck yourself off. I work Catskinner at Blackcomb and there is literally 2 spots to jump off so you'd get fucked if you missed them.


Nah fam just tranny the landings of any those three XL booters.
7 years ago
3 0
profile picture
dubmasterskanka
Posts: 828 - Karma: 2,959
TRVP_ANGELNah fam just tranny the landings of any those three XL booters.

Yeah those are the spots I mean 😂😂
7 years ago
0 0
profile picture
skierman
Posts: 8593 - Karma: 9,406
NinetyFourCame here for the Georgia rollback. Fucking Jesus Christ: https://youtu.be/B_cmw2bIJEw


I've never laughed so hard in my life.
7 years ago
2 3
profile picture
SkiThe603
Posts: 5376 - Karma: 498
Skiing Loon back in 2015 on demo day and the north side lift went backyards for 50ft, every damn chair went backwards and boy was that the last time I was on that lift for a few weeks
7 years ago
1 0
profile picture
Mr.Front4
Posts: 164 - Karma: 184
Just turn around and send it like a park jump
7 years ago
2 0
profile picture
theabortionator
Posts: 52529 - Karma: 173,374
MinggI was working when one of our lifts rolled back(9 chairs). It was one of my first days working. Scary shit. Luckily it was a slow day and the 9 chairs were unoccupied... shit was fucked. I'm pretty sketched about lifts after that tbh. At least fixed grip lifts.


If it happens just make sure you jump jump, fixed grips will make you jump jump, rollin back will make you jump jump.

Idk somehow that made me think of Kris Kross.
7 years ago
4 0
All times are Eastern (-4); Currently it's 10:13AM