Wilmington, NY – Following a similar incident in Maine at Sugarloaf on Tuesday, officials at Whiteface Mountain Ski Center in Upstate New York have confirmed that a similar incident occurred there on Wednesday.nAt around 11 a.m. on Wednesday the lift cable of Whiteface’s Lift I, also known as the Freeway Lift, derailed from the sheave train at tower 22, the next to last on the lift. The sheave train is the wheel assembly that guides a chairlift’s haul rope past a cable and suspends it above the ground. A cable catcher installed on tower 22 prevented the cable from falling to the ground and lift riders suffering a similar fate to those at Sugarloaf on Tuesday.

A total of eight lift riders were treated for injuries at Maine hospitals following Tuesday’s incident at Sugarloaf, while no lift passenger injuries were reported at Whiteface on Wednesday, although one Whiteface ski patroller suffered minor injuries during the evacuation.

“First, our thoughts are with those affected and we are thankful that there were no serious injuries. One ski patrol staff member suffered an injury during the evacuation and is being evaluated,” said, president and CEO of the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), the agency that operates Whiteface Mountain. “The Whiteface crew and responders did an outstanding job following procedure and evacuating the lift, ensuring everyone’s safety.”

The malfunction occurred at 10:58 a.m. and Whiteface Ski Patrol immediately began skiing the lift line, notifying the people on the lift about the situation. The lift’s 76 passengers were fully evacuated by 12:45 p.m.

An investigation is underway into the cause of Wednesday’s incident, but it has been determined that the malfunction was not caused by wind which is being investigated as a cause or contributor to Tuesday’s malfunction at Sugarloaf.