On Sunday afternoon as I was wrapping up my ski day at Canyons, I got stuck on the Super Condor chairlift for more than 15 minutes. “Mechanical problem” told me the ski patrol in handing me a coupon for a free hot beverage at Park City Mountain. 

Maintenance issues seem to be an epidemic at Vail Resorts that probably has not the sharpest tools in the shed when it comes to his technicians and generally speaking the rest of its mountain personnel. Chairlift stoppage is almost constant and never happened so frequently until Vail Resorts took over or at nearby Deer Valley for that matter. Sometimes I even wonder about my own safety when riding up the lifts… 

Coincidentally, that evening, I learned that the night of January 27, a woman was trapped 15 hours overnight inside a gondola at Lake Tahoe's Heavenly Ski Resort, another Vail Resorts property. Monica Laso survived a freezing night (23 degrees F) on Thursday when she became too tired to go down the hill, approached a worker who guided her to the gondola where she got in at around 4:58 p.m..

Just two minutes later, the gondola stopped, leaving her stranded alone and scared without a phone or a light. All she could do was scream out for help every time she saw an employee below, but no one could hear her. The next morning the resort staff discovered Laso seriously refreshed, but still alive. 

Tom Fortune, chief operating officer of Heavenly Mountain Resort. said the resort was "investigating this situation with the utmost seriousness.” He added, “The safety and well-being of our guests is our top priority at Heavenly Mountain Resort." Of course, hearing that made me feel much, much better. 

What a bunch of incompetent; I just only hope that Monica Laso also got a coupon for a free hot chocolate!