SAM Magazine—Roxbury, N.Y., July 14, 2022—A direct lightning strike on July 12, 2022, started a fire in the bottom lift shack of the Plattekill Mountain Northface double, destroying the structure and its contents, including the lift’s drive control. No one was injured in the incident, but the Hall double chair will need a new low-voltage control to operate.

General manager Danielle Vajtay estimates that the fire began sometime around 3:45 p.m., but it was not spotted until a neighbor taking an afternoon walk around 5:00 p.m. discovered the flames and called the fire department.

“Running to her house and calling the fire department very well could have been what saved this whole lift,” said Plattekill president Laszlo Vajtay, noting that the fire department arrived within 10 minutes of the call. 

The fire department’s quick response kept the drive motor cool enough to save the lift, said Laszlo. However, damage to the drive control inside the lift shack has rendered the double inoperable until the ski area is able to source replacements. 

“Our biggest challenge is finding a 200-horsepower DC drive control, which has components that are being affected by supply chain issues plaguing this country,” he said. “Some of our suppliers have been telling us lead times could be 36 weeks or more. 

“We are praying that there is a drive sitting on a shelf somewhere in a warehouse collecting dust that someone will stumble across, or that we can find a current, used one that will pass the inspection code criteria,” he added.

In addition to losing the drive control and lift shack, the mountain’s lift mechanic’s tools were also lost in the fire. However, Laszlo anticipates that those tools “will all be replaced once the insurance adjuster completes work.”

During the summer, the lift serves a purpose-built wedding ceremony platform on the summit. Until the Northface double is back on line, weddings will move to the summit of Plattekill’s other chairlift, the Sunshine Triple. “Our team will construct a new platform at the top of our Sunshine Triple and has vowed to work until it is complete so as not to disrupt our busy wedding season,” he said. A local lumber yard is providing lumber for the new platform at cost.

Laszlo is confident that if a new drive can be secured, the Northface double will be operational for the coming winter season. Plattekill has two chairlifts and two surface lifts that serve 38 trails across 75 skiable acres.