Industry News
In what must be one of a skier’s worst nightmares, New York State Police are looking into a local man’s claims that he spent a cold, snowy night stuck on a chairlift at Gore Mountain Ski Center over the weekend after the lift shut down for the day while he was headed up the mountain, reports the Post Star.
In a situation reminiscent of the movie ‘Frozen‘, (no, not the Disney one!), the skier, whose name hasn’t been released, reported that he was on the North Quad chairlift late Saturday afternoon when it stopped as he headed up for one last run down. He was not found until the lift was restarted at 8 am Sunday, and he reported he was on the lift overnight as an inch or two of snow fell and temperatures dropped into the 20s.
He was unhurt and declined medical treatment. Gore Mountain staff contacted State Police though, and a trooper from the agency had interviewed the skier on two occasions this week.
The man reported he was stuck on a chair on the High Peaks lift and was suspended about 30 feet off the mountainside. It was unclear whether he had a cellphone, but cell service is spotty on lower portions of the mountain, depending on location.
A Gore Mountain official acknowledged the incident, but would not release details Friday.
Gore Mountain is run by the state Olympic Regional Development Authority, and ORDA spokesman Jon Lundin said the State Police were looking into the situation, but he declined to discuss it further.
“We are aware of the report and are seeking to confirm the facts,” he said.
Pretty frightening ordeal. What would you do in that situation, just sit it out…?
Had that almost happen at Homewood once.
Quiet, mid-week day. Lifty lets me on the lift just after 4pm. I’m the only person on the chair. No skiers on the mountain that I can see. And it stops. 15 minutes go by, and then 30. Nobody has skied by, not even Ski Patrol. Very quickly, it’s getting close to 5pm and getting dark. I am trying to determine whether I jump (and likely break legs) or sit there and die slowly. Finally, after 5pm, I get some word from Ski Patrol and the lift spins.
I go straight to the Homewood office and yell at the manager a good amount of time. She thinks I just want free tickets. My anger increases…
bet he got first tracks!