Chairlift Accident at Heavenly Kills Honeymooner in Tahoe
By Rocky Thompson on September 1st, 2009
A malfunctioning zipline at Heavenly Mountain Resort slammed into a chairlift carrying a honeymooning Southern California couple. The groom was pulled from the lift and fell 50 feet. He was treated at the scene and died, and his wife was struck on the leg by the zipline but she survived. The couple was planning on moving from California to South Lake Tahoe. And you were depressed because it’s only Tuesday morning? Sad story; and it’s going to be ugly for Heavenly. I feel like these ziplines have so much redundant safety built into them since they’re so inherently dangerous. They have to take so many steps to ensure their safety, that it’s surprising one could malfunction so badly.
Updated: The local TV station has some coverage. It sounds like the return line(?) on the zipline somehow reached the chairlift and got wrapped the woman’s leg and the chair’s safety bar.
It is terrbily sad for the honeymooning couple regardless of how it happened but the facts just can’t be correct for what’s being reported. The Zip line is not anywhere near the chairlift except at the very end, where it is not 50′ from the ground as the length of this man’s fall was reported. I wish somoeone could clarify just what happened, because you’re right, there are so many safely features buit into this attraction. Poor Heavenly, too. All they want is to create some fun for their visitors and then this tragedy happens.
My mom was there. You need to get your facts straight before you report things like this.
Every safety precaution IS TAKEN & I WILL ride both the zip line & the chairlift tomorrow and any day after. Donald was right in his comments. There is an on going investigation going by many different authorities. The reasons for the accident will be told. It really was a very freak ACCIDENT !!! Heavenly is not to blame, they did all that was meant to be done & will continue to take all precautions to ensure strict safety lines are met. They provide us with a wonderful experience each time we are there. SO GET THE FACTS FIRST BEFORE YOU PRINT BS
ANON are you seriously taking up for heavenly???…do you know how much the maintenance guys make up there?….that shit would not fly in any other industry….you take a multi million dollar lift system and put peopel working on it for minimum wage hmmmm sounds like a good idea….fucking cheap corporate bastards….and as far as your last line “SO GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT BRFORE YOU PRINT BS” did you email all the papers and tell them the same because every story seems to start with man (and i quote) “falls” from lift….another way to put it would be he was ripped from his chair due to the malfunction….you probably work for Vail corp.
Wow, none of you know what your talking about. Lift mechanics make way more than minimum wage and the zip line runs parallel to tamarack chair and probably 25′ away. In Heavenly’s defense everything probably was in order and it seems to be a freak accident. for the last guy, what mountain do you ride? probably owned by a corporation.
Anon, you never got the chance to get on the zip line because it is closed for the season due to this tragedy. Hahahaha…. too bad so sad for you. Did you really think you had any chance of getting a ride after that poor guy fell? That’s what you get for not caring about the value of human life.
Let’s put it like this is was an accident, things happen that we our selfs can’t control. but that man you speak of was a very close family friend of mine. nothing was out of the ordenary for Mark and rebecca that morning. they really need to do a big investigation on everything and everyone needs to keep there noise out of it and you opinions to yourself. Think about the ones who are greaving,what if that was your family member, but out people!!!!