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Excalibur Gondola tower collapses

Cabins drop 30 feet but no one seriously injured

“Ice jacking” is being blamed for the collapse of a gondola tower on Blackcomb Tuesday afternoon.

Officials believe water penetrated the seal between two sections of Tower 4 on the Excalibur lift. The water then froze and expanded, causing the tower to break in two.

A news conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. this morning to provide further updates.

At approximately 2:30 Tuesday afternoon the top section of Tower 4 on the Excalibur Gondola sheared off from the lower section, causing the gondola cable to sag approximately 30 feet. None of the gondola cabins left the cable, however two cabins hit the ground.

Tower 4 is just a few hundred metres from the village terminus of the two-stage lift that runs from the village to half way up Blackcomb.

By 5:51 p.m. all 53 guests trapped on the gondolas were evacuated. Twelve people were treated at the Whistler Health Care centre. All walked out of the health care centre on their own accord later that evening.

Graeme Bell believes he is just lucky to walk away after the gondola he was travelling in plunged to the ground.

“I was downloading on Excalibur Gondola at the end of the day and I just heard a big metal bending noise and all of a sudden our cabin was plummeting to the ground,” he said outside the Whistler Health Care Centre where he had been treated for his injuries.

“Our cabin bounced off the ground, our window popped out upon impact, the bench collapsed, my finger got broken and my head was banged.

“It was bouncing up and down for a couple of seconds and then it came to a stop and we jumped out the window that had popped out as we were only about three feet off the ground at that point.

“It happened pretty fast and when it was over we gathered ourselves and decided to get out of the cabin, and then we started swearing.”

Bell, 26, who has lived in Whistler for six years teaching skiing, working for Outdoor Adventures and as a cook at a local restaurant, got a level one concussion in the incident as well as a broken finger.

“It could have been worse,” he said adding that a friend he was riding with was still being x-rayed as he spoke.

“We were very lucky to be able to walk away from that. Our cabin dropped 40 feet and bounced off the ground, pretty crazy.

“It is definitely not going to stop me from skiing. Skiing is my life, but I don’t know if I am gong to ride the Excalibur for a while.”

Lara Christensen’s stranded gondola was just a few feet off the ground.

“I’m about to have a panic attack,” she called out to the growing crowds who had gathered to witness the drama as it unfolded.

“There was a really big jolt. Then a massive one, then all the cars went crazy,” said the Australian who is here to work for the season.

Within minutes of the accident emergency responders were on the scene with ambulances and fire trucks working out how to reach those who might need help. Ski patrol and Search and Rescue were also on hand.

The local roads were closed off, as was Whistler’s main public transit bus loop, which runs under the gondola. Indeed one of the gondolas rested precariously on the edge of the roof of a bus shelter. The gondola’s impact blew out the windows of the bus shelter.

Occupants climbed to safety along a fire truck rescue ladder at about 4 p.m.

Doug Forseth, senior vice-president of operations for Whistler Blackcomb said the cable and tower had to be secured before evacuations could take place, so a 25-foot crane was brought in for the job.

“We want to make sure that the tower where it is separated is secured and that there is no chance of the rope coming off of that,” he said at the site of the accident Tuesday afternoon.

Anyone who could not be reached with emergency equipment was taken out with rope harnesses.

Just days ago Whistler Blackcomb staff were exultant with the opening of the iconic Peak 2 Peak Gondola which links the two ski areas. Media from around the world covered the event.

Asked if he was worried how this event might impact the resort a somber Forseth said: “Of course. You are always concerned about what the public perception is.

“My worry always is that people make their own stories up without knowing the facts, so we need to get the facts out and so we can talk about it on that basis.”

A full investigation by Whistler Blackcomb and the B.C Safety Authority was launched Tuesday evening to determine the cause of the failure. By Wednesday morning the cause was believed to be “ice jacking” — water penetrating the area between the two tower sections and then expanding. (See related story.)

The Excalibur Gondola was installed 1994 and goes through a B.C. Safety Authority check every year to be re-licenced.

“That has been done this fall,” said Forseth.

“It is certainly not an old piece of equipment.

Whistler Blackcomb staff kept in touch with those trapped though a human herald system.

“We have people up and down the line talking to the guests in the cabin to let them know we are working on this so they realize they are not alone,” Forseth said Tuesday.

It is not clear how long it will be until the lift is operating again. The accident comes at a difficult time for the resort, which is battling to attract tourists in a global economic downturn.

“It is just so awful to have this happen after the amazing opening of the Peak 2 Peak,” said Ontario’s Sara Miller as she rubbed her hands together in the -12 C degree weather.

“I’ve never heard of anything like this before. It is just lucky no-one was killed.”

Said Brian Walters visiting from the UK: “I was just on the gondola and it seemed to be going slowly.

“It is scary to think there is no warning for this sort of thing. But I think it is very rare, very rare indeed.”

No work was being done on the lift at the time of the accident. Doppelmayr, the manufacturers of the lift, will also be part of the investigation.