- 37-year-old Jeffrey Zinne died from injuries sustained in a 15+ foot fall
- Triple Chairlift evacuated 100+ riders after mechanical failure at noon Monday
- 50mph winds recorded during incident at Montana's Beartooth Mountains resort
- Only 35 chairlift-related deaths reported nationwide since 1956
The ski community mourns as Red Lodge Mountain faces its first fatal lift accident in 41 years of operation. Jeffrey Zinne's tragic fall from the Triple Chairlift raises urgent questions about aging infrastructure and extreme weather protocols. With the 1983-built lift now shuttered pending engineering review, resorts nationwide are re-examining their safety measures.
Industry analysts note that 46% of U.S. ski lifts exceed 30 years of service, the typical lifespan for such infrastructure. This incident underscores the urgent need for modernization,says National Winter Sports Safety Institute director Mara Kreslav. Her 2023 study revealed that resorts investing in digital monitoring systems reduced mechanical failures by 68%.
Comparisons to Colorado's 2020 Vail Resort tragedy reveal disturbing parallels. Both incidents involved entanglement hazards - Zinne's jacket reportedly caught on the chair during high winds. The National Weather Service confirms gusts reached 49mph precisely during Monday's noon hour, exceeding the lift's 45mph operational threshold.
Red Lodge Mountain's response team completed the 2-hour evacuation using mountain rescue techniques developed after 2018's Taos lift evacuation. Our patrollers train quarterly for these scenarios,said spokesperson Hawks, though he declined to specify why winds didn't trigger earlier shutdowns.