Second Chairlift Breaks Down at Catedral, Argentina, in Just 2 Weeks

Around 60 people were evacuated by rope from the Del Bosque chairlift at Catedral Alta Patagonia near Bariloche, Argentina, on Saturday, August 15, 2026, after the lift reportedly stopped operating, marking the second chairlift evacuation at the resort in just over two weeks. The incident left approximately 60 passengers suspended above the mountain for around 1 hour and 40 minutes before rescuers lowered them to the ground using ropes and harnesses, according to local outlet Bache3000.

Thankfully, no injuries were reported. However, critics have pointed out that Saturday’s incident comes just over two weeks after another major lift evacuation at Catedral. On July 29, passengers on the resort’s Nubes chairlift were left stranded after a mechanical failure reportedly affected the lift’s gearbox. That evacuation also required ropes and harnesses and lasted several hours.

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The recurrence has raised questions about the reliability and management of the extensive lift network at one of Argentina’s largest and most important ski resorts.

Saturday’s incident occurred on Del Bosque, a fixed-grip two-person chairlift serving the resort’s southern sector. Del Bosque was built in 2005, making the lift approximately 21 years old. The Doppelmayr chairlift is 1,620 meters (5,315 feet) long, climbs 360 vertical meters (1,181 feet) and can transport approximately 1,500 people per hour.

Meanwhile, Nubes is a little bit newer than Del Bosque. The detachable four-person high-speed chairlift was built in 2006 and is capable of transporting 2,200 passengers per hour. The lift by Austrian lift manufacturer Swoboda climbs 580 vertical meters (1,903 feet) over a 1,670-meter (5,479-foot) line.

According to the earlier reports, a gearbox failure left the Nubes line stopped with passengers suspended high above the mountain. The subsequent evacuation began in the afternoon and continued into the evening, with passengers eventually brought down using ropes and harnesses. Again, nobody was injured in the incident, however, two lift incidents inside of two weeks are starting to raise questions about the resort’s maintenance and upkeep.

Catedral Alta Patagonia is one of South America’s largest ski areas, with a sprawling lift network serving the mountain above San Carlos de Bariloche in Patagonia. The resort currently lists 29 lifts at Catedral, with a combined uphill capacity of more than 40,000 people per hour. The network includes several relatively new lifts, including the six-person Ciprés and four-person Ñire, both built in 2023. However, it also contains some considerably older infrastructure. The resort’s historic Cable Carril, a 25-passenger aerial tramway, dates to 1950, while the La Hoya two-person chairlift dates to 1974. That’s a 76 year old and a 52 year old lift respectively.

Del Bosque and Nubes by comparison, are much newer. The lifts were both installed during Catedral’s major modernization program during the mid-2000s. Del Bosque opened in 2005, with contemporary reports describing it as one of several new lifts installed as the resort expanded and connected different sectors of the mountain.

The fact that both recent evacuations involved lifts from that modernization period makes the incidents particularly noteworthy.

The two chairlift failures are not happening in isolation. Bache3000 reported complaints from skiers, businesses at the base area and mountain employees regarding management of the resort, including changes to the ski patrol workforce. The outlet also pointed to other lift incidents in recent seasons. In June 2025, the Militares and Amancay lifts reportedly derailed during strong winds, while the La Hoya chairlift was stopped for nearly an hour in January with approximately 90 passengers aboard. Thankfully, none of those incidents resulted in fatalities or serious injuries.

Still, repeated lift failures become particularly concerning at a major ski area during the height of the winter season, when thousands of visitors can be on the mountain simultaneously.

Catedral is one of the most important ski destinations in Argentina and a major tourism driver for Bariloche. The resort offers roughly 1,200 hectares (2,965 acres) of terrain and more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) of ski runs, with a combination of modern detachable lifts, older fixed-grip chairs, surface lifts and the historic Cable Carril.