Notice that it's a free rappel which can be much more frightening for the untrained than a rappel from a rock cliff or building.
Posted on 01/05/2022 2:12:15 PM PST by CedarDave
Even in the best conditions, Benny Abruzzo admits that striding from one of the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway towers onto the top of a tram car is a “gulp” step.
But what if you have just climbed up that tower’s 80-foot ladder in slippery, frigid conditions in an effort to rescue 20 people who have been trapped in that car, dangling at an elevation of 8,750 feet, for hours.
“That tower was covered in six inches of ice,” said Abruzzo, 63, owner of the tramway, the Sandia Peak Ski Area and Sandia Peak’s TEN 3 restaurant. “I had to break the ice free of the rungs, and the winds are blowing it into your face so you turn into this big frozen thing.”
The people trapped in the car were 19 employees of TEN 3 and a tram operator. They were descending on the tram late Friday night when icy weather caused the tram cables to tangle, stalling the tram cars. Also trapped was a single tramway employee on his way up to the peak in another car.
Abruzzo and Paul Johnson, area manager of Sandia Peak Ski Area, started hiking up to the tramway’s No. 2 tower before dawn on Saturday. Abruzzo said they reached the tower some time between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Abruzzo made that two-foot step from the tower onto the roof of the car and opened the hatch on the car’s roof.
He said the trapped passengers ranged in age from teenagers and those in their early 20s to people in their 50s. They were servers, bartenders, cooks, dishwashers and people in senior management.
Secured in a harness, they stepped one by one out of the tram car door and were lowered to the ground by rescue workers.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
Notice that it's a free rappel which can be much more frightening for the untrained than a rappel from a rock cliff or building.
Wow! Pretty daring rescue. Thank God everyone survived.
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Super cool, my sons rode that before they went to Philmont Scout Ranch.
Benny is the son of the late Benjamin L. “Ben” Abruzzo, who was part of the three-man team that made the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a balloon in 1978.
Benny said Saturday’s rescue was a job that called on skills he has developed throughout his life. “I am an ice climber, a rock climber and a mountaineer, and all those skills came in handy,” he said. “It was difficult, but well within the things I have done before.”
From the photo I ask ...
Did the tram car get stuck mid-supports or at a support ?
Did they have a way to move the car to get it to a support ?
Hmmmm.....
Icy ladder v. icy repel rope.
[After over-nighting in the tram car, apparently]
I was living in ABQ in ‘73 when it happened. I was talking to a buddy named Gary Maricle who was an on air guy at one of the local radio stations. He said “I gotta go. The tram is stuck.” And he hung up. I knew what he was talking about instantly.
Yes, they were really, really high up, but not THAT high off the ground. Above sea level, yes. Way to exaggerate.
No, they were stuck between the towers and I read they were moved very slowly to the tower as the emergency cables had ice that interfered with the support and pulling cables. If the cables had actually become tangled and wrapped around the other cables when moving quickly, it would have endangered the cars and passengers.
FTA: “...move the second car to the No. 2 tower. The cars could go backward, but not forward.”
FTA: “...move the second car to the No. 2 tower. The cars could go backward, but not forward.”
Now THAT is a boss who walks the talk! He must be an amazing leader. I doubt any of my bosses in my career would be on the tip of the spear like that.
Oh my goodness! The very thought of being on top of that thing in a storm makes me queasy.
This gutsy rescue is like something out of a James Bond movie!
It is an optimistic story for the New Year.
As long as we have brave men like these rescuers, America is in good shape!🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Below is a video link to the helicopter portion of the rescue:
https://www.facebook.com/BCSONM/videos/sandia-peak-tram-rescue/582434056164711/
I’ve ridden that tram. I can imagine how harry it would be.
And the elevation above sea level is certainly relevant to how cold and windy it can get.
—”Icy ladder v. icy repel rope.”
Most ropes used today are Everdry or similar.
Yes, some call them never dry. nothing perfect.
And more likely they lowered them off than letting them rap down?
I will also say this: Running a mile and a half in Santa Fe in January is definitely not the same as running a mile and a half in Dallas in January.
I believe you're right. If you take a close look at the photo, there is no rope below the person while there is an apparatus above the door that likely assists in controlling the rate of descent.
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