Winter Park Resort’s communications team has confirmed the gondola is back up and running two days after a malfunction occurred Saturday, Dec. 21, at about 12:15 p.m.

While the incident that stranded 182 passengers is still under investigation, according to the Colorado Tramway Safety Board, the agency said resortgoers were allowed to board the gondola at 1:11 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23.

The lift was closed after the lift’s system identified an issue, and the resort identified a crack in a metal support on the lift. Winter Park ski patrollers evacuated people stuck on the lift via a rope system that was attached to each cabin.

Resort spokesperson Jen Miller said the gondola was going at its usual speed before stopping, and it was not over capacity when the malfunction was detected.

Miller said the resort was alerted of the issue at about 12:15 p.m. Saturday, and everyone on the gondola was evacuated by 6 p.m., though most were off by 5 p.m. She said the sun setting at around 5 p.m. delayed the evacuation process slightly. 

The incident didn’t result in any injuries, according to the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board.

The president of Winter Park Resort and lift mechanics were among the first to ride the lift before it reopened for guests, Miller said. 

“That whole part (with the crack in it) was removed and (replaced), and so that part was sent back to the manufacturer for more review,” Miller said. “But the initial reports are that (the cause of the crack) was just fatigue.”

According to the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board, the last inspection of the gondola was conducted in October 2024, and it receives three inspections per year.

The Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board said it is proactively reaching out to other entities that have similar equipment.

“The board has been in contact with Colorado ski areas to ensure that lifts with similar equipment designs are not affected,” a representative from the board stated. “No further issues have been found resulting from these immediate inspections; however, these areas are being instructed to perform frequent follow-up inspections until further notice.”

Agencies that assisted in the incident included the lift manufacturer, Leitner-Poma, and the U.S. Forest Service.