In what is frighteningly becoming a regular occurence at Whistler/Blackcomb, a lift chair crashed over 25 feet to the ground.  This follows a scary accident that occured just two months ago when a Gondola Tower collapsed, trapping 12 people and injuring several others.

Luckily, no one was riding on the chair at the time of the accident.  However, it raises a lot of questions about the maintenance of the lift operations at Whistler.  Technicians were actually aware that the high-speed Harmony Express charlift had an issue, but they didn't follow protocols and inspect it in time.  DUMBASSES!

The chair crashed early in the morning, but luckily no one was on it at the time.  Whistler/Blackcomb lift maintenance manager Wayne Wiltse said the lift's control panel indicated a cable monitoring switch fault, but because the mountain was closed when the alarms when off, crews decided to avoid an inspection.  It wasn't until a groomer discovered at 7 a.m. that the chair had fallen off the cable.

To make matters worse, the authorities at Whistler/Blackcomb didn't notify the public about the accident until three days later.  They only decided to make the matter public when rumors started spreading.  ARE YOU F'N KIDDING ME?

I wasn't planning on making a trip out to Whistler this year, and now this cements it: Earliest I'm heading up there is 2010.  Just in time for the Winter Olympics.