Whitefish, MT – Whitefish Mountain Resort’s Chair One, used for scenic lift rides and carrying mountain bikes in summer and skiers in winter, will be closed indefinitely due to repair work needed for the chairlift’s tower six. On Saturday, the ski resort’s lift maintenance crew noticed a “slump” in the ground 25 feet above tower six likely caused by heavy moisture this spring.
Chair One is a detachable quad lift and is equipped with safety mechanisms, auto-stop modes and alarms that warn operators. The lift ran until close at 6 p.m. without any significant warnings. Lift maintenance and lift operators continued to monitor the area and the lift throughout the day. In the afternoon, the area around the slump was marked with flags.
On Sunday morning the area was re-inspected and it was observed that the slump had grown overnight. During a visual inspection of the lift it was determined that tower six was about four inches out of plumb. Chairs and gondola cars were removed in order to release tension on the lift cable to enable crews to tie back and secure the tower. The lift manufacturer as well as a hydrologist and a soil engineer have all been contacted, and a helicopter was brought to the scene to remove the tower.
“We will be putting all necessary resources towards assessing the situation, finding a solution, and getting our Scenic Lift up and running as soon as the lift is back to engineering standards,” said Dan Graves, president, Whitefish Mountain Resort. “Our main concern is for the safety of our customers and employees.”
All hiking and mountain biking trails under Chair One are closed until further notice, which includes the Danny On Memorial Hiking Trail and upper sections of the Go Fish and Gopher biking trails. The Summit House at the top of Chair One is also closed.
Whitefish’s Alpine Slide, Zip Line Tours, Walk in the Treetops and lower-mountain cross-country biking trails all remain available for summer visitors. Chair 6 and Chair 9 are running and the Base Lodge Café, the Base Lodge Bar also are open.