UPDATE: Zoo chairlift reopens after part installed
The Mountaineer Sky Ride at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo reopened Friday afternoon after a breakdown caused the ride to shut down in mid-run Wednesday. Nineteen stranded riders needed to be resuced by firefighers.
The manufacturer found Thursday that a malfunction in a computer wire running from the ride’s stop gate to the computer caused the abrupt end to the ride. A replacement was installed Friday, and the ride reopened after safety inspections, zoo officials said.
The Colorado Springs and Broadmoor fire departments rescued the 19 passengers from seven chairs, using ladders more than 100 feet tall and trained climbers to get to the passengers, one of them a 1-year-old.
Just Saturday, the Sky Ride had “passed with flying colors” an inspection by the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board, according to Jean Gordon, zoo spokeswoman.
Springs firefighters last completed evacuation training on the ride six months ago, Gordon said.
Colorado Springs firefighters Becca Wisham, left, and Kyle Moritz help lift 1-year-old Kyle Wursten on Wednesday from the arms of his grandfather, Doug Wursten, on the Mountaineer Sky Ride at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Photo by MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE