Schweitzer To Negotiate Lift’s $1 Million Repair Cracks Found In Grips Of Quad Lift; Repairs Will Be Done This Summer

Schweitzer Mountain Resort will “negotiate” with the manufacturer of its Great Escape ski lift over who will pay the estimated $1 million needed to rebuild it, its general manager said Tuesday.

Schweitzer has not yet sued Lift Engineering Ltd. of Carson City, Nev., said Tim Hinderman, general manager of the resort. In February, Schweitzer’s maintenance staff found microscopic cracks on the grip mechanisms that keep the chairs on the cable.

Doppelmayr USA will replace the grips and completely rebuild the terminals, Hinderman said. The ski resort bought the quad lift for $2.2 million in 1990.

Hinderman hopes to have the quad - which moves four people in each chair - running by Thanksgiving weekend, Schweitzer’s traditional opening date.

Weather, the availability of parts and Doppelmayr’s two dozen other projects in North America could conspire to delay the project.

Lift Engineering’s attorneys in Nevada will not comment on any negotiations the company has.

The cracks in the grips are a design flaw, said Bob Hamilton, Schweitzer marketing director. Dozens of other ski resorts have found varying numbers of cracks in their grips for the Yan-series quad lifts built by Lift Engineering.

Doppelmayr, based in Austria, will replace most of the equipment that sends the chairs up and slows them down.

Hinderman said that Schweitzer “did its homework” when shopping for a lift, and like many ski resorts in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, bought a Yan-series lift.

Several ski resorts in California have opted to replace their Yan-series lifts.

“Sometimes these things work out this way,” he said. “But it was probably a blessing in disguise for us.”

Winds, icing and other factors shut the quad down more days than the resort wanted. The new equipment has a solid reputation and should help keep the big lift running more consistently, Hinderman said.

A fatal Yan-series lift accident at Whistler Mountain late last year was not related to Lift Engineering’s order for inspection of all its lifts in February, Hamilton said. “That accident at Whistler was not a mechanical failure,” he said.

Until the final cost of the restoration project gets tallied and until the resort settles with Lift Engineering, the financial implications for Schweitzer are unclear.

When the resort closed the lift - the mountain’s primary people -mover - skiers received a discount on daily lift tickets.

Hinderman said in the event the rebuilding of the quad cannot be completed in time for opening day, “we’ll remain flexible on ticket prices,” he said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo