The video of 6-seater chairlifts rocking spectacularly in the storm in Silvretta Montafon continues to cause a stir.The cable car manufacturer Doppelmayr says that chair lifts are among the safest means of transport.The danger is extremely low.
Dramatic scenes can be seen on a video that is making the rounds on social networks: skiers on a chairlift in Montafon are hit and shaken by squalls.According to those responsible, they were never in danger - more about skiers caught in the storm in the chairlift. Moving Walk
When there are gusts of wind, it is not the chair itself that is crucial, but the clamps, i.e. the attachment to the rope, says Doppelmayr press spokesman Ekkehard Assmann in an ORF Vorarlberg interview.Basically, chairlifts can withstand a lot and are among the safest means of transport in the world.
This item is no longer available
This video is currently causing a stir on social media.The recordings were provided to us by Peter Cottens.
In that case in the Silvretta Montafon it was a 6-seater chairlift, here you work with four times the safety, explains Assmann.A fully occupied 6-seater chair weighs around 1.2 to 1.3 tonnes.The clamp grips the rope with a force of 50 kilonewtons: “People would say it takes five tons to open the clamp.”
This is what the clamp looks like on a Doppelmayr lift
The wind speed at which a lift or cable car would have to be shut down depends on the respective location, says Assmann.There is no general guideline; this is always a very individual situation.
The whole thing also depends on whether the lift is a chairlift or a gondola, because the weight is crucial.The heavier a vehicle is, the more windproof it is.
If anything, it can only be dangerous near lift supports, says Assmann.The operators acted correctly here because they positioned guards on the lift supports and the chairs moved over the supports very slowly.
This item is no longer available
Many skiers wonder how much wind a chairlift can actually withstand.“Vorarlberg today” asked the lift manufacturer - who reassured us.
If a chair hits the support, it could be dangerous.However, there are legal regulations for swinging when passing through the supports.There is a lot of security here.It is very unlikely that a chair will actually reach a lift support.Assmann advises skiers on a lift to simply remain seated, even in strong gusts of wind.
Large Freight Elevator By the way, Austria's cable cars transport almost 600 million people up the mountain every winter.Statistics show that for every billion kilometers traveled on a cable car, there are 0.35 accidents - fewer than with airplanes.