tram station leaving people to die

[cynthia23]

It's true there is a governing body, but "the tram" (the building, the restaurant, the employees, and the tram itself) is run by a corporation who pay 'rent' to the state to operate their franchise. I think it's similar to the hotel in Yosemite, etc. These are private corporations who operate on state property. I can't remember the name of this company, although I've heard it, and a brief search didn't uncover it, but someone here who is good at searching can find it. Whatever the name of the corporation, my understanding is that running the tram is very profitable for them.

The more I think about it, the more I think Hal is right to put them (the company) in the same order as a hotel or cruise ship. Essentially, they are tour operators, and they do have a responsibility to take care of their guests. But instead, they seem to have operated purely on profit motives: don't close the tram even though high winds are forecast; then when you're forced to shut down the tram, pull all the employeees out so you don't have to pay them overtime. Keep the building locked tight so you don't incur any damages or liability. All these decisions were purely profit-driven and not one of them took into account safety of their guests.

btw, while searching online, I came across a post from one of the stranded hikers. He/she stated that while they knew the weather was bad and discussed it with the ranger, no one EVER told them early closure of the tram was a possibility. The stranded hiker also stated that when they finally got down, they were met by some kind of company spokesman, who demanded their names and addresses. They were not offered any kind of apology at all. It sounds like PSAT is worried about legal repercussions.

The more I think about this incident, the more concerned I feel about possible future emergencies. What if there's an explosive fire near the station? What if there's another freak storm? If climate change is real, there may be more extreme (sudden, severe) weather events. What if there's an earthquake? We're 150 years overdue. If the Big One hits during the day, and there are three thousand tourists up there, how will PSAT react or cope? It's not that they have a bad plan; they appear to have NO plan. What's troubling is that PSAT seems to see itself as something akin to a restaurant in the sky, not acknowledging its real responsibility to keep the tourists it's brought up there alive. The top of the mountain is an inherently dangerous place; even the Cahuilla avoided going up there. If the company is going to take large profits out of the franchise, they need to put some of the money back into safety. How is it possible they had no contigency plan for a situation like this? Apparently, back in 'ye olden days', the tram did allow stranded hikers to shelter in the lobby. But with a change of corporate ownership and a purely profit-driven focus, they seem to have distanced themselves from a more humane and rational response and are acting with all the concern you'd expect from a large modern corporation--none.

[The Shovel]

I wonder if the cheesy audio was playing in the tram when the seventeen hikers came down Sunday morning.

[Ed]

Cynthia, thanks for the information. I think the 'restaurant in the sky' expression captures it well.

I don't think the Mount San Jacinto Winter Park Authority is out of the picture, they must pick and regulate the corporation to which you refer. The information I found was quite current and is under the name of their spokesperson, who recently spoke for PSAT about this episode.

[HikerBlatt]

Hypothetical: what if one or more of the people were in crisis and one of the hikers walked next door to the ranger and reported such.? It's my guess the ranger would have used his telephone and/or radio to get backup and if need be, would have opened the tram station himself. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me. I've spent some rough days in the backcountry from time to time. I think I would have just called this one "uncomfortable."

[bluerail]

On the day the tram was evacuated and locked down, the large windows in the building (everywhere) were bowing severly and in danger of breaking, shattering glass everywhere....I can understand completely their reluctance to leave access to the building.

apparently, it was debated and decided best for safety issues to keep anyone from being in the building, and taking the approach they did.

Smart move...everyone seems to be somewhat safe.

[halhiker]

On the day the tram was evacuated and locked down, the large windows in the building (everywhere) were bowing severly and in danger of breaking, shattering glass everywhere....I can understand completely their reluctance to leave access to the building.

apparently, it was debated and decided best for safety issues to keep anyone from being in the building, and taking the approach they did.

Smart move...everyone seems to be somewhat safe.

To me that just sounds like a lame excuse. You can't tell me there's not a place at the Mountain Station that would be perfectly safe. The kitchen, the theater, the conference center or any number of places would have been fine to allow those folks to spend the night. Personally, I can't agree with the decision. Would you leave your guests out in the cold because the weather was bad?

[halhiker]

http://www.mydesert.com/article/2012012 ... ded-hikers

[cynthia23]

Bluerail has a good point in that the tram station itself is probably not a very safe shelter--I've often thought how deadly those large windows would be in an earthquake--but along with HH, I continue to feel troubled by the 'captain abandoning the ship". Even though it was necessary to shut the station, some PSAT employees should have stayed behind to help shelter/care for the remaining hikers (the basement theater was probably safe enough.) That was their moral, and I think, legal, obligation. They shouldn't have thrown it all off on the ranger. What really disturbs me about this whole thing is that PSAT seems to have been flying by the seat of their pants, without a pre-existing plan. Have they never planned for this contingency? Isn't it obvious that, as a previous poster rather inelegantly posted, shit happens? That's why I said this reminds me of the 08 incident with the stuck rescue cable, where they were utterly flummoxed and were literally calling helicopter companies from the yellow pages. It really seems to me they don't have adequate emergency planning, and I find that scary. Again: what if there's an earthquake, a fire, another sudden severe storm? I have taken children and old people up on the tram, and I'm reconsidering that. Every day PSAT hauls hundreds of thinly clad people, many of them old, disabled, or children, up eight thousand feet to a remote and harsh environment. They must take with the utmost seriousness their responsibility to keep these people safe. I think there should be some kind of public hearing or accountability to determine what, if any, public safety plans PSAT has.

[tinaballina]

On the day the tram was evacuated and locked down, the large windows in the building (everywhere) were bowing severly and in danger of breaking, shattering glass everywhere....I can understand completely their reluctance to leave access to the building.

apparently, it was debated and decided best for safety issues to keep anyone from being in the building, and taking the approach they did.

Smart move...everyone seems to be somewhat safe.

We were up there that day, the wind was blowing the whole place pretty bad. Steve is right, that glass goes and there isn't really a safe spot to be. I know I have not been active on the boards lately but to put blame on the tram station seems a little overboard. the people at the tram station would never put anyone at risk, hell they put up with us on a regular basis. Weather trumps any and all decisions on a mountain.

[cynthia23]

But they did put people at risk. Seventeen of them.

I'm not ragging on the PSAT employees who are mostly great people. We all know employees who've personally participated in rescues, stayed overnight to help SAR, etc. I'm saying the management needs to have emergency plans in place for emergencies. Because this chaotic situation implies they didn't.