Whitefish Mountain Resort: Full statement on Chair 1 line evacuation

On Jan. 9, we encountered a mechanical issue that caused Chair 1 to stop spinning and resulted in a full evacuation of the lift. Operational staff from across the mountain responded and safely belayed an estimated 150-200 guests from the lift line. No injuries were reported as a result of this operation. We apologize to all guests involved in this incident.

Guests directly involved in the lift evacuation were directed to Base Lodge Tickets & Information to receive free lift tickets for future use. Passholders involved were given tickets that can be used by friends or family. If any guest involved did not make it to the Base Lodge today, they can still call or visit in the coming days.

Chair 1 initially stopped spinning at 9:55 a.m. Staff were able to briefly operate the lift before it stopped again. Our lift maintenance team responded and quickly identified the issue. After multiple attempts to unload passengers using the lift's backup systems, we made the decision to conduct a full evacuation at about 11:30 a.m. Ropes, climbing harnesses and specialized seats were used to lower guests from the chairlift carriers to the snow surface, in accordance with our ski patrol's training and protocols. All passengers were removed from the lift by 1:47 p.m.

The response to this lift stoppage was a mountainwide, all-hands-on-deck effort involving multiple departments. We closed Chairs 8 and 11, and all associated terrain in the Hellroaring Basin and Flower Point, so that additional patrollers and other staff could assist with the evacuation process. In all, more than 40 employees — including patrollers, mountain ambassadors, ski instructors, and staff from the terrain parks and events department — were directly involved in the evacuation process. Four patrollers came in on their day off to assist.