An 18-year-old snowboarder fell from a chairlift at a popular Colorado resort last week, marking the fourth such incident in the county this season.
According to a statement from Copper Mountain Resort in Summit County, the snowboarder fell from the American Flyer chairlift on Monday, January 6. They were reportedly between towers 25 and 26 and had raised the bar and were preparing to unload when they tumbled off. According to the Passenger Tramway Safety Board – the state-run agency that regulates ski lifts – the chairlift was inspected and no faults were found.
In that case, the snowboarder did not report any significant injuries, however in December, a 32-year-old man was riding the Ruby Express lift with the safety bar raised at nearby Keystone Ski Resort when he fell nearly 50ft onto rocky terrain that had not yet opened for skiing. That man was airlifted to hospital for treatment.
Just days after that incident and only a 20-minute drive away at Breckenridge Ski Resort, two snowboarders fell from the same lift in separate incidents, according to the Summit Daily.
On December 13, a 31-year-old man fell about 37 feet from the Beaver Run Chair on Peak 9, hurting his knee. He was riding with the safety bar raised. Three days later, a 21-year-old fell from the same lift suffering a broken clavicle and possible concussion. It is not yet known whether the safety bar was raised or down, but in both instances, the PTSB says lift malfunction was not involved.
A lesson in chairlift safety
Falls from chairlifts aren't common, but they do happen – to the tune of approximately 14 falls per season in Colorado – and they can be fatal. In 2023, we reported on an Illinois skier who died after falling 25ft at Breckenridge while trying to brush snow off his seat.
Though lift malfunctions and inclement weather can occasionally be to blame for chairlift falls, as you can see from recent incidents the culprit is usually human error. Any time you are riding a chairlift, it's important to bring the safety bar down as quickly as possible upon loading the chair and to keep it down until signs tell you it's safe to raise it, even if other skiers on the chair complain.
Don’t board a chairlift or gondola when under the influence of drugs or alcohol and observe the maximum loads at all times. Skiing may be an inherently dangerous sport, but there's no reason to make it more risky than it needs to be.
You can learn more in our article on skiing safety, and what to do if you get stuck out in whiteout conditions.
