UPDATE: According to a social media post by Black Mountain officials Tuesday morning, the ski area’s double lift was back up and running as of 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 30. They are still working to get the triple lift operational again.
Two chairlifts had to be closed at Black Mountain in Jackson, New Hampshire Sunday after they experienced “critical component failures.”
Erik Mogensen, president and general manager at Black Mountain, stated in a Facebook post that the two lifts experienced problems and were closed within 90 minutes of each other.
Losing two chairlifts during the weekend in the middle of the holiday break was a brutal development for the ski area.
“Losing both aerial lifts within hours due to critical component failures on one of the busiest days of the season sucks,” said Mogensen.
The trouble began at around 10 a.m. on Sunday when staff at Black Mountain discovered an intermittent noise coming from the top bull wheel on the East Bowl Triple. They stopped loading the lift and determined they could safely continue to run the lift for a few minutes and get everyone off the line.
They diverted all skier traffic to the Summit Double Chair and two surface lifts while they continued to assess the situation at the top of the Triple.
About 90 minutes later, the Summit Double started to show irregularities at the base terminal, and within seconds, Mogensen said he witnessed a critical failure in the front electric motor cabinet.
Staff determined that they should keep the lift spinning, getting as many people safely off the line as possible. Once they had a complete failure, Mogensen concluded they would be unable to safely decouple and separate the failed electric drive system, and utilize the auxiliary power unit to finish unloading skiers. Patrol quickly mobilized and completed a manual evacuation of the lift within 30 minutes.
Mogensen said the triple lift had a complete failure on the top bull wheel bearing.
“This part should have a 10-year lifespan,” he said, “and it was on season 8.”
The double lift reportedly had a failed drive motor. Mogensen said the motor and mechanical assembly was completely overhauled this summer, and should have been “like-new.” He said they’re working with the manufacturer to fix that immediately.
Mogensen said anyone who purchased a lift ticket of any kind Sunday will be refunded in full, regardless of how much or little they skied. The same with Indy Pass visits. Any redemptions will be canceled with Indy and will not count as a visit to Black Mountain.
Additionally, he said anyone who visited Sunday, including downhill season pass holders, will receive a transferable comp lift ticket valid any day of the 25/26 season. This ticket can be used by the skier or by a friend or family member.
