FRANCONIA, N.H. — Dozens of people were evacuated from a ski lift at a popular mountain in New Hampshire following a mechanical issue on Wednesday, officials said.
Ski patrol and operations personnel at Cannon Mountain in Franconia launched a rope evacuation just before 10:15 a.m. after a bolt affixed to a power takeoff shaft failed on the Peabody Express Quad lift, according to Cannon Mountain.
Cannon officials confirmed that 64 passengers on the lift were safely evacuated shortly before 12:30 p.m.
The Peabody Express Quad was closed for the day and mountain operations were reduced with service continuing at Mittersill Double, Tuckerbrook, Eagle Cliff, and Zoomer lifts.
Rich Finnegan and Philip Defeo on their drive back home to southern New Hampshire recounted the scary day.
The two told Boston 25 they realized something was seriously wrong after 7 minutes halted in the air.
Finnegan explained, “I was like, ‘I don’t think this is a routine like someone slipped and fell. I think there’s something mechanical wrong.’”
Finnegan claimed they were about 25 feet above the ground.
He added, “It was definitely way too high to jump.”
The two remembered patrols racing to each chair to let them know help was on the way.
Finnegan said, “They were hustling.”
Finnegan and Defeo were thrown a rope by crews and were told to strap themselves in before repelling down with the help of ski patrol.
“You put it around your chest, tighten it, and you put the seat under your butt,” Finnegan explained. “When they give you the word you pop off the chairlift.”
All 64 passengers were safely rescued from the lifts in single-digit temperatures.
Finnegan finished, “Jumping off a chairlift goes against every instinct you have … We were brave.”
“While all chairlifts and equipment at Cannon undergo regular inspection and testing, mechanical issues can occasionally occur,” Cannon said in a statement.
All guests at the mountain at the time of the incident were offered the option of a refund or a credit for a future visit, as well as complimentary hospitality at the base area.
This incident comes after a chair detached over the weekend at Attitash Mountain Resort in Bartlett, sending a man plummeting 20 feet to the ground below.
Both lift mishaps remain under investigation.
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