It was a scary moment for skier Clint Ashmead as he watched a young boy dangle precariously from a chairlift at Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah Monday.
Ashmead, who witnessed the incident and subsequent rescue, is a father and was skiing with his children. He said the boy was skiing with friends when the chairlift snagged his backpack as he was dismounting.
Skiers and snowboarders will sometimes wear backpacks to carry supplies and food for long runs.
Ashmead said the ski patrol sprung into action to quickly rescue the boy, who appeared to be around 10 years old, and bring him to safety. He was not injured.
A similar incident occurred on the same lift just before Christmas, which was also caught on camera. Ashmead said he had just shown the video of the earlier incident to teach his children about lift safety.
On Dec. 21, skier Phil Warner was on the lift when a young boy behind him had somehow slid off, getting suspended in the air when his backpack became lodged in the arm of the seat.
“I just heard screaming, ‘Help! Help! Help!’” Warner told Fox News.
The boy yelled that he was in pain and that he was losing feeling in his arms as he waited for the ski patrol to rescue him. He was quickly brought to safety without any injuries as well.
In an interview with Fox regarding the first incident in December, the resort’s director of mountain operations, Czar Johnson, said people become entangled in lifts wearing gear such as backpacks, ski poles and helmets.
In a statement to Global News, Johnson wrote:
“Sundance Mountain Resort takes chair lift safety very seriously. Guests are encouraged to remove packs before loading the chair lift. Ultimately each skier is responsible for taking the proper precautions to ride the chair lift safely. We encourage parents to have conversations with their children about all aspects of mountain safety, including proper use of the chair lifts.”
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