A day out on the slopes in Colorado took a turn for the worse when a gondola malfunction left 174 skiers and snowboarders needing rescue.
The incident occurred at Winter Park Resort around 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, according to the resort’s spokesperson, Jen Miller.
Evacuations began around 1 p.m. and the majority of parkgoers who were affected were safely evacuated by 5 p.m.
The remaining “10% or so” took a bit longer due to darkness, according to Miller, who said everyone was safely evacuated by 6 p.m. Saturday evening.
The evacuations were completed by the resort’s internal ski patrol staff who are trained for emergency ski lift and gondola rescues each year, according to Miller.
“A gondola is an enclosed ski lift,” she said. “They’re cabins so you get on without skis, walk on, carry your skis and put your skis on at the top.”
All guests trapped on the gondola were given a $10 voucher and two lift passes for this year or next year, Miller said.
Miller noted that the part of the gondola that had malfunctioned was removed and a new part was being installed Sunday afternoon.
Winter Park Resort staff were automatically alerted to the malfunction, according to Miller.
“It stopped as it was designed to. There were no passengers in the gondola that needed to call anyone. It was an automatic alert to us,” she said.
