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I wonder if we've just lost one of the SJ crowd.


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Poor bastard.

 

Can't work out which lift though.

 

One part of the report makes it sound like he could have fallen off the El Plateau chairlift onto the rocks below and then another part sounds like he fell off either of the Va et Vient surface lifts.

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That is really sad.

Seems like he was the type of guy to have lived every single day of his 31 years though...if you know what I mean.

 

His Dad said:

Quote:
"He's gone on a lift on the way up a mountain ... and he was nearly at the top and he was just unable to hold onto the lift any more and he let go of it and he was caught, in a sense, in one of those sections on a mountain that was very difficult to get out of," Mr Fine said.

Sounds to me like he was on a Poma or t-bar type lift and let go a bit before the top in a tricky section.

 

However it happened - sympathy's to those who knew and loved him.

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Originally Posted By: Mamabear
Sounds to me like he was on a Poma or t-bar type lift and let go a bit before the top in a tricky section.


That's what it sounds like to me.

Terrible news. Condolences to his family and friends.
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This from the Sydney Morning Herald.

 

Mr Fine, a snowboarder from Petersham in Sydney's inner west, slipped from a poma, or T-bar, ski lift.

 

His father, Michael Fine, said his son got caught on a difficult section of the mountain, and was killed while trying to make his way back to the resort.

 

"He's gone on a lift on the way up a mountain ... and he was nearly at the top and he was just unable to hold onto the lift any more and he let go of it and he was caught in a sense in one of those sections on a mountain that was very difficult to get out of," Mr Fine said.

 

"He couldn't traverse to the other side, and in his attempts to get out he ended up going over a ledge."

 

and

 

He had learnt Japanese and lived in Japan for a number of years "teaching English in the morning and going snowboarding in the afternoon".

 

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The top of portillo is serviced by a drag lift. It is like no other drag lift I have seen. Like a tram there are two lifts, one going up the other down. It is like a large tbar and 4 get on at a time and then it shoots you up the mountain at a really high spead. It holds the record for highest speed drag lift in the world, it is also one of the steepest drag lifts I have seen. It is almost like skiing up hill. There is no proper exit at the top so right after unloading you are already on the pitch and skiing backward. The lift and the terrain it services are for experts only and it is still early season in SA so the exposure would be high (I was there in high season after a record snow and it was still pretty peppered with exposed rocks). It must be even more gnarly for a boarder with only one leg strapped in going up...

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OK.. I know I am a newbie to this sport - but you have to enlighten me Stunts...how on earth do 4 people ride this thing at one time? wakaranai

 

All I have seen or used is the type that you stick between your legs and hang on. They were so talked up as being difficult for a snowboarder I was terrified to try and stuck to chairs...but when I did give it a crack I had no problem with it at all. I did notice a bit of arm stress as it got steeper and I got tireder - so I can imagine how someone would not be able to hang on on a very steep, very fast one...

 

...but I just can't picture what it would be like and how it would be configured to drag up 4 at a time!! wakaranai

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That is horrible. I can see dying by falling off a chairlift, but off a surface lift... one would think that something that dangerous wouldn't even be used. I have been on steep t-bars before, ones that would result in a LONG slide down, but nothing life-threatening.

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Thanks for the pic's guys - I have a mental picture now! I am a very visual person and I just could not get my head around HOW.

 

Quote:
You hit speeds that would ve compparable to bombing a green run.

Oh my GOD! Really? UPhill?

Wow!

 

Poor guy.

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I'm very sorry to hear this news. Condolences to all who knew him.

 

I have no idea whether he was helmeted up or not (or whether it would have made any difference either way in this case) but as an unrelated comment, for those of you still wondering if wearing a helmet's a good idea when skiing or boarding....please - be convinced. You never know when you are going to need the protection.

 

Stay safe.

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And the speed uphill is something to be wondered at! I cannot imagine being dragged uphill, with 3 mates, at that sort of speed.

 

It absolutely beggars belief that it is allowed to operate - I know that, in Oz, the OH & S people would have it stopped in no time at all. There'd be a 6 month investigation into this event, they'd not be allowed to operate until the findings were released, and most likely be shut down after the operator was found to have breached some safety code or other (even if totally not related to skiing!) :rant off:

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These are predominately the kind of lifts that they still use in Scotland. Obviously the mountains aren't near as high, but the equipment does look antiquated. The last time I was home and boarding, I still couldn't use the poma lifts, they are just a nightmare for boarders. That siad, my ability level has greatly improved since then and I'd reckon I could ride em now.....thank god I don't have to

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The terrain it accesses is more dangerous than the lift. If you are not comfortable with the "sligshot lift" don't get on it. The reason it is a drag lift is because wind issues would keep a chair down more often and the reason it is fast is because it is a steep ride and would make for a difficult t-bar ride. That lift is in Chile, not Australia and we can only thank god that the Andes (and the Alps) are not in litigious countries.

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Exactly.

 

This appears to be a freak accident for an accomplished snowboarder.

 

I've seen inexperienced skiers and snowboarders fall off this lift with nothing damaged but their pride.

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