Updated Dec. 23, 4:21 p.m.
Skiers and riders can get back on the gondola at Winter Park Resort today, Dec. 23, after a scary weekend of lift malfunction.
The Gondola stopped working Saturday, Dec. 21, and more than 170 people had to be evacuated by ropes. No one was hurt. The resort says the lift got repaired and a critical new part has been installed and tested.
As of Saturday, officials began investigating what caused the crack in a ski lift that forced the evacuation of 174 stranded skiers and snowboarders.
The gondola automatically stopped when it detected the crack in a structural piece of the lift just after noon, resort spokesperson Jen Miller said. People riding in the gondolas were lowered down by ropes over the course of about five hours, she said.
No injuries were reported during the rescues, which came at the start of the busy holiday ski season.
Ski patrolers entered the cabin of each gondola from above and lowered people's equipment to the ground before using a rope equipped with a seat to lower each of the 174 passengers to the ground, Miller said.
Workers were replacing the section of the lift that cracked Sunday as state regulators and the lift's manufacturer worked with resort officials to investigate what caused the crack, Miller said. The resort still had 21 other lifts open.
