Whitefish Mountain Resort evacuates 150 skiers off new Chair 4 Wednesday

Skiers and boarders were lowered down by rope from the new Snow Ghost Express chairlift at Whitefish Mountain Resort following a mechanical failure Wednesday.

The lift, also known as Chair 4, broke down at 9:40 a.m. Around 150 guests were safely unloaded by ski patrol by 12:35 p.m., according to resort spokesperson Chad Sokol.

In addition to Chair 4’s mechanical failure, Chair 2 did not run at all Wednesday, and the resort paused chairs 7, 8, 11 and the Bigfoot T-Bar to divert staff for evacuation assistance.

Resort employees talked with each evacuated guest, and many received lift tickets and hot cocoa vouchers for their trouble, Sokol said.

The chairlift failures come about a month after over 200 skiers spent several hours stranded on Chair 1, Big Mountain Express, following electrical problems.

In the statement, Sokol described it as “another tough day on the mountain.”

“We know it’s been a frustrating experience for many of our guests — on a pow day, of all days,” Sokol continued.

Whitefish resident and 20-year passholder Shannon Hoge was on her first ride up the mountain when the lift stopped moving. She said she was frustrated at the lack of timely communication about the breakdown.

Hoge said she waited on the chairlift for an hour before she learned of the issue through the resort’s website, accessed via mobile phone.

“Once it was stalled for more than 20 minutes, then obviously something’s wrong,” Hoge said. “They could have had an employee ski down the lift line and tell people. I wish they would have decided what to do sooner.”

Hoge did say that once the decision to evacuate was made, ski patrollers were efficient and professional in getting everybody down safely.

Once she got off the lift, however, Hoge decided it was time to go home, without having completed a single lap.

The Snow Ghost Express has been open for about a month, and was built to expedite and improve the skier experience.

The high-speed lift is the largest on the mountain by capacity, carrying up to six people per chair. When operational, the chairlift picks up passengers in the base area by the lodge and whisks them up 2,200 feet to the top of Inspiration Ridge in seven minutes.

The multi-million dollar project took four years from planning to completion. It was well received by skiers and boarders when it opened. Those interviewed at the time were excited to access areas of the mountain they previously avoided.