Another lift failure in N.H. as Cannon Mountain evacuates 64 from Peabody Express Quad

Cannon Mountain ski patrol evacuated 64 people Wednesday from the Peabody Expresss Quad. (Peter Anania)

For the second time in less than 72 hours, a New Hampshire ski resort suffered a significant lift failure.

Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch State Park said that a bolt attached to the power take-off shaft on the Peabody Express Quad failed around 10:13 a.m. Wednesday.

The quad is one of the main lifts at Cannon, running from the Peabody Base Lodge to about two-thirds of the way up the mountain. It is the only chair that allows for access to the Cannonball Quad to reach the summit when the tram is not running.

The state-owned ski area said 64 people were evacuated via rope by the ski patrol and mountain personnel, and everyone was removed from the chair by 12:23 p.m.

Peter Anania of Portsmouth, N.H., was on the lift for his first run of the season when the lift came to a halt.

“The chair slowed to a stop, nothing unusual. Then a ski patroller said the chairlift is broken and it’s going to be a while,” he said. “Cannon stopped all the chairlifts because it was all hands on deck to get everyone down. (It was a) very smooth process of getting us off the lift. Cannon had around five teams of workers getting us down.

“Even though it was cold, at least the wind wasn’t blowing. They shut off some of the snow guns that were blowing snow dust back onto the chairs. We were on the chairlift for 1.5 hours. Fortunately, I had my new heated socks.”

Anania said that everyone was checked out for precautionary reasons and had hot chocolate and a free lunch waiting for them.

“We waited for about an hour while most people left,” he said. “They reopened a few more chair lifts, so we were able to get in another six runs.”

Cannon reopened at 1 p.m. with the nearby Eagle Cliff triple chair running in place of Peabody.

The resort announced Wednesday afternoon that Peabody would remain closed on Thursday and the tram, which is typically closed on weekdays, would run to provide summit access. Windy conditions Thursday morning led to the decision not to run the tram and have no access to the summit.

At Ski NH’s Winter Kickoff event at McIntyre Ski Area in Manchester on Dec. 2, the state’s tourism board projected that visitors will spend a record $1.6 billion this winter.

“Governor (Kelly) Ayotte is aware of recent lift incidents and our office will continue to work with the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Passenger Tramway Safety Board, and our partners across New Hampshire’s resorts to ensure skiers can safely enjoy the season,” said Ayotte’s spokesman, John Corbett.

One person was injured Sunday when a chair on the Flying Bear quad at Attitash Mountain Resort in Bartlett detached from the line and dropped about 20 feet onto the Avenger trail. The injured man was taken to Memorial Hospital and released. He could be heard in a video posted to social media taken by someone passing overhead that he had hurt his lower back.

Tramway inspectors with the state’s Fire Marshal Office were continuing to investigate the incident, which happened between Towers 5 and 6 on Bear Peak. The Department of Safety press release on Monday said representatives with the lift manufacturer, Doppelmayr, were assisting and cooperating with the investigation.

The state said the lift successfully passed its annual inspection in November 2024. It said that lifts must be registered and inspected annually and are subject to random inspection during the year.

Mike Hamel of Merrimack, N.H., said he was in chair No. 60, three chairs behind the one that fell.

“We heard that chair bang when it entered the base terminal while we were in line,” he said. “Whatever that was tripped the sensors in there and that stopped the lift. The operators cleared the fault and on we went.

“Right after Tower 5 that guy dropped. The line bounce sent the empty chair behind his swinging wildly. It smashed into Tower 6 and that’s when the lift stopped.”

Hamel said the individual was able to crawl out from under the chair and Hamel asked if he was OK.

“(He) said he thought so, but his back hurt,” Hamel said. “(He) told us it felt weird going through the first few towers and then after (Tower) 5, it started sliding backward on the cable and then it dropped.”

The Flying Bear, which is the only lift to reach the summit of Bear Peak, has not returned to service since the incident.

On Monday, Attitash owner Vail Resorts posted a full-time, year-round position for an experienced lift mechanic to its jobs board with pay ranging $23.00-29.59 per hour.