Make Eldora Safe for Kids

Thank you for starting this petition.

I realize this issue happened in the beginner area, but the Alpenglow lift could also use some safety attention. The bar on that lift is too heavy and difficult for many children to lower if there's no adult on the lift. My 8 year old has told me that she has repeatedly ridden the lift with only other children, and they rode without the bar down because they could not lower or raise it without adult assistance.

I ski with my 7 year old daughter at Eldora and plan to teach my younger son there as well. These proposed changes are needed, esp. installing safety bars or new chairs w/bars on all beginner lifts.

Get the safety bar already !! And improve parking

I would suggest also requesting a rule that one employee at the top and bottom of each lift must be within arms reach of the emergency stop, with eyes on the lift and no additional duties (i.e. shoveling snow).

As a mother of a two year old, I still have time to decide which mountain to send my child to. I’d love to send him here. ONLY if Eldora can guarantee his safety at least while riding lifts, where falls should be preventable. This requires attention from adults at all times while he is riding.

I sent an email to Eldora- in 2015 about safety on the lifts! Their response was lame: Jan 13, 2015, 2:05 PM 12. Do all chairlifts have restraint bars? No, in fact, many chairlifts do not have restraint bars, but this does not make those chairlifts any less safe. Only a small number of states require that ski areas have restraint bars installed on all chairlifts. Restraint bars are not the “silver bullet” to preventing incidents or falls from lifts – through industry experience and studies, it is well understood that incidents occur on chairlifts with and without restraint bars. Individual behavior and human error – not any restraining device or lack of restraint bar – is usually the contributing factor in most lift incidents. Sit back, hold on, sit still and NO horseplay! The most important thing is for you to communicate the importance of NO HORSEPLAY to any children riding the lifts unattended. You can find further information on lift safety here: http://www.kidsonlifts.org

I have long felt that the safety measures at the beginner lifts are inadequate. The little girl falling off the lift was foreseeable. Please add safety bars and more adult involvement in getting kids on and off the lift. Lift operators also need more training.

What, still no safety bars at Eldora? We skied at Eldora, with our small children, for a short time 15 years ago - lack of safety bars for all skiers made me nervous then. Pathetic how irresponsible Eldora remains all these years later. You are NOT a family friendly ski area.

This is horrible what happened and should be stopped immediately.

Please protect my grandson who is in your ski school every Sunday!

I was there with my kids at the time of the accident. It was shocking and amazing that the child is relatively ok with not more severe injuries. what a miracle! I am still puzzled why the lift did not stop sooner. My daughter age 8 is scared of the lifts and we always try to signal them to slow down, with varying degrees of success. I don't agree with all the points in the petition. I think it is unreasonable during lessons that there be one adult instructor to one child as the price would go up enormously and be unaffordable. However, there are enough adults that a child could board with an adult. there should be bars on all the lifts and rules to make sure the bars are actually used. and the lifts should be trained in better protocols.

Please prove safety standards for children using Eldora - safety bars on all lifts and adult supervision as a requirement for kids 6 and under.

Lift safety is so important. Our overall experience at Eldora has been good, but we have also experienced lifties not paying attention when signaling to slow the lift down while unloading our new skier.

Safety bars ftw!

I don't agree with #3 of this petition. It is unnecessary as there are always adults available in line for the lifts.

Jodi

Debbie, we are so sorry to hear that! Thank goodness he wasn't injured. We would encourage you to share your story with Mitchell Byers of the Boulder Daily Camera (303-473-1329 or [email protected]) and Detective Chris Fiegel of the Boulder County Sheriff's Department (303-441-4763 or [email protected]). Also please join us on the new Parents for a Safe Eldora Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/349583429011764/

And safety bars on lifts ridden for ski school.

Hi Mandy, Thanks for your support. Great job getting the news involved.