A day out on the Colorado slopes took a turn for the worse when a gondola malfunction forced the rescue of 174 skiers and snowboarders.
The incident happened at Winter Park Resort around 12:15 a.m. Saturday, according to resort spokeswoman Jen Miller.
Evacuations began around 1:00 PM and most of the affected parkgoers were safely evacuated by 5:00 PM.
Tourists ride Gondola (Cable Car Project) on February 23, 2024 in Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir, India. (Photo by Nasir Kachroo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Nurphoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The remaining “10 percent or so” took a little longer due to darkness, according to Miller, who said everyone was safely evacuated by 6 p.m. Saturday.
The evacuations were completed by the resort’s in-house patrol staff, who are trained annually for emergency elevator and gondola rescues, according to Miller.
“A gondola is an enclosed ski lift,” he said. “They’re cabins, so you go up without skis, walk in, carry your skis and put your skis on top.”
All guests caught in the gondola were given a $10 voucher and two lift passes for this year or next year, Miller said.
Miller noted that the malfunctioning section of the gondola was being removed and a new section was being installed Sunday afternoon.
Employees at Winter Park Resort were automatically alerted to the malfunction, according to Miller.
“It stopped as designed. There were no passengers in the gondola to call anyone. It was an automatic alert for us,” he said.
