Ski lift derails at The Lecht Ski Centre
Several people including an adult and five children were admitted to hospital yesterday afternoon after a chairlift at the Lecht Ski Centre in Aberdeenshire derailed. The injured fell a distance of around 20 feet and mainly suffered from spine and leg injuries, none of which are thought to be life threatening. The incident happened at around 15.30 yesterday afternoon and the injured were swiftly taken to hospital by the rescue services, three by helicopter and the other three by ambulance. We hope for a speedy recovery for all those involved!
Around 30 people were left stranded on the remaining chairs for around an hour but were safely brought back to firm ground once the injured had been seen to. Feedback from witnesses on site at the time of the accident suggests that the rescue teams worked efficiently and swiftly to deal with the situation – exactly what we want to hear in situations that are as unpredictable as this one was. There were a large number of children using the slopes yesterday as it is currently the half-term holidays in many parts of Scotland.
The Lecht is the smallest ski-field in Scotland yet boasts 12 ski lifts and terrain that is suited to all levels of snowboarders and skiers. It has invested heavily in its freestyle offerings this season, with a park setup that includes a variety of boxes and rails and no less than three kickers.
While no one was seriously injured yesterday, the incident surely raises the question of whether a general review is needed for current Scottish skilift systems, many of which are old, rickety and need of a facelift. What is your experience of Scottish ski lifts in general? Are they in good nick as is or is it only a matter of time before there are more (perhaps more tragic) incidents like this one? Let us know in the comments section below.
I’m not keen on chairlifts as it is, but the fact one has fallen off? Totally in need of a face lift I’d say! Freaks me out to think about the fact it broke with people on it! Mind you, glenshee have a new chairlift at their resort which is pretty good! So i suppose they’re not all bad…
Thoughts go out the injured and hope the spinal injury isn’t permanent. I have been to all the ski hills in scotland and i gotta say (in general) the lifts are pretty old and have a tendency to break down and have issues all the time. Luckily most of them are surface lifts, so when this happen you simply slide off down the hill and head to another lift! Some strict regulations might have stopped this from happening but would it mean more expensive lift tickets or even more hard times for the ski areas
I go each year to Scotland, mainly the Nevis range. I have always enjoyed it and never had a bad time, but have to admit that there are a lot of things that could do with updating. The lifts are one thing they could do with updating, also along with fences. I still will visit Scotland even if they dont do the updates, but would be nice to see the improvements.
i ride cairngorm resort everydat and ther pully systems are all in decent nick.but from what ive geard about some of the other resorts is that they are in a definate need of a bit of TLC maybe some funding from the governemnt would be good here.
Went on that chairlift about 3 weeks ago, was pretty old school. I have seen a drag lift in France derail but a line of people falling over simultaneously is funnier than children falling from the sky.
Having been to Glencoe recently I definitely did not feel safe on main chairlift. When gale force winds forced the closure of the slope. The descent was terrifying, the winds were blowing severely and the chairlifts did seem at risk of derailment and harnesses weren’t exactly secure seeing as the are held over you. If the weather keeps up and business is good I think that should be first priority in investment
The Lecht is a great resort considering its capacity compared to other scottish resorts. The staff are the best about. Yes a chairlift up-grade is required but without lottery or goverment funding that wont be easy for them to achieve. Perhaps the goverment should introduce a new safety scheme for scottish resorts and help fund improvements as this is a large part of our tourist industry in the winter months. Thoughts are with those who are injured. No-body should blame the lecht as “excuse my french” they can only piss with the cock they have got.
I appreciate ‘safety first’. But a small Scottish resort stands no chance. Having worked on ski lifts the cable alone costs over a million US dollars on a high speed quad chair lift. Let alone the rest of it!
I have ridden at all 5 ski areas and while there are a few decent lifts, most are old and rickety. If the snow and weather was a bit more reliable throughout the season then they could afford to update them but of course its not!
I presume that all lifts are safety inspected and tested each day and throughout the season so even though the lift is old it should have still been in safe running order.
The Large Lecht chairlift is only a fe years old as a result of a large investment. I’m not sure if it is that one that is involved. We are just back from Glenshee on Monday and they are pretty strict about stopping the lifts if the wind gets up. They had 20 tows open tho so no queues and lovely deep snow. You can avoid the chairlifts at glenshee and use pomas if u. Want although they do still have a few t-bars which are a bit out of fashion now . I assure there must be inspection regimes but if there isn’t there should be.
Thoughts out to the injured. I’ve fallen off before now about 20ft up but luckily it was into deep snow! Let’s just say on a 2 man chair my mate was a bit bigger than me and I couldn’t get my arse onto the chair as a result. Anyway lets hope they do a series of cHecks and upgrades now.