Snowboarder dangles from chairlift, then plunges 47 feet in Colorado, officials say
A snowboarder was seriously injured after he plunged nearly 50 feet from a chairlift at a Colorado resort, officials said.
A witness sitting in the same chair said the snowboarder was adjusting the bindings on the snowboard while the restraint bar was up, the Passenger Tramway Safety Board said in an emailed statement.
The snowboarder clung to the chair’s armrest before he fell about 47 feet from the Keystone Ski Resort’s Ruby Express lift at about 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11, the statement said. He was wearing a helmet when he fell.
The rocky trail below was covered with only a thin layer of snow and hadn’t yet opened for the season, Colorado Public Radio reported.
Ruby Express is a six-person, high-speed, detachable lift that drops skiers and snowboarders at the top of Dercum Mountain, Summit Daily reported.
The resort unloaded the rest of the passengers from the lift and closed it for an inspection and investigation. Officials determined the fall was not caused by a lift malfunction.
The 32-year-old snowboarder was taken to a hospital near Denver, about a 70-mile drive east from the resort.
This story was originally published December 13, 2024 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Snowboarder dangles from chairlift, then plunges 47 feet in Colorado, officials say."
