Peak 8 SuperConnect Update to Breck Employees - Friday, Dec. 23, 2022
Good Morning, team -
In light of the events that took place yesterday on the Peak 8 SuperConnect, we wanted to reach out to you today to share some information. With events like this, we believe transparency and accuracy are incredibly important, and we want to make sure you know the facts as we know them.
First and foremost, the safety of our team members and guests is at all times our highest priority. In addition, we’ve worked in the ski industry for a long time, and can say without a doubt that our lift maintenance and patrol teams are some of the best in the business. They prioritize the safety of our teams and guests every single day.
Yesterday, at approximately 10:35 a.m., we had a chair detach from the haul rope of the Peak 8 SuperConnect as it was reaching the top terminal. We had one guest on the chair at the time who fell approximately 13 feet. Lift maintenance was on site at the time of the incident and Ski Patrol arrived on site immediately. And, we are very thankful to report that there were no injuries as a result of this occurrence. Ski patrol attended to our guest, and the guest declined any further care.
As next steps, we were quickly able to unload everyone from the chairlift, using both the mid-load and upper terminal to get guests off the chairlift quickly. The lift was down for 11 minutes following the event, and we were able to safely unload every guest off the lift within 20 minutes. We then closed the lift for the remainder of the day. We reported the event to the Colorado Tramway Safety Board and conducted a full inspection of the lift.
While it’s no doubt yesterday was windy, we are no stranger to wind at Breck. We have robust standard operating procedures that we follow across our operations that take into account many weather variables, including wind speed and direction. At the time of this event, we were following all standard operating procedures based on decades of experience. Yesterday the wind direction was predominantly favorable for operations when the SuperConnect opened at 10 a.m., however an abnormal wind gust and direction, combined with the chairlift coming into contact with components of the upper terminal, created the circumstances of this event. In our high alpine environment, exceptional weather events have the ability to create unique and unexpected circumstances, which underscore the importance of prioritizing safety, preparation, and training.
We have fully inspected the Peak 8 SuperConnect, consulted with the Colorado Tramway Safety Board, and we are cleared to reopen the lift today. We are also continuing to thoroughly review all aspects of this event, and will be doing our due diligence to review our operations and communications procedures.
Again, we are thankful that no one was injured in this event. We are thankful that we have an incredibly experienced lift maintenance and ski patrol team who were on site to respond to this event immediately. And we are thankful to all of you for the amazing work you’re doing today and every day. The safety of our staff and our guests will remain the highest priority in everything we do for our resort.
Thank you.
Jody Churich, VP & COO
Jon Copeland, VP of Mountain Operations
Adam Pino, Director of Lift Maintenance