The opening day of the Colorado ski season is a celebratory event enjoyed by many. Most go home with their first day of skiing or riding under their belt but for one skier the day turned terrifying.
According to reports, an unidentified skier slipped off a chairlift during the opening day festivites, falling almost 20′ to the ground. The fall happened in the mid-afternoon near the 11th and final tower of the Black Mountain Express chairlift. It is unclear if the safety bar was down at the time. So far multiple reports say the man appeared drunk at the time of his fall. When Arapahoe Basin Ski Area CEO Alan Henceroth was asked if the man was drunk, he did not comment.
“As a precautionary measure, our ski patrol transported him to the first aid room,” Henceroth told The Gazette. “At that point, he was denying any injuries and walked out on his own.”
Last season a man saved a fellow skier who was strangled unconscious by his backpack as he hung from a chairlift at Arapahoe Basin.