Naked Skier OK After Fall Through Vail Chairlift

VAIL - A skier was uninjured after falling through a raised chairlift seat in Blue Sky Basin at Vail Resort Friday.

The man, 48, was caught on the chair and was suspended for approximately seven minutes. His fall through the chair snagged his pants leaving the man naked while hanging upside down.

Lift operators immediately stopped the lift and Vail Ski Patrol was called to the scene.

Lift mechanics were able to reverse the lift approximately 10 to 12 feet, at which point the man was released.

He was not injured.
In a scary (and embarrassing) moment, a man dangles upside down and pants-less from a ski lift in Vail, Colorado. Read the rest of the story and see photos and video from the incident below.

In an embarrassing and scary way to start the year, a man almost fell off a ski lift in Vail, Colorado. The 48 year old man was vacationing with his son, and they boarded the high-speed lift in Vail’s Blue Sky Basin. The chair has a fold down seat, which apparently was not in the correct position when the pair boarded. This caused the man to fall through the gap that resulted. Luckily, the man’s right ski didn’t fall through with him (and his boot never released from its binding), which kept him from falling to the mountain below. Unfortunately, however, the man’s pants did not stay put, and he wound up dangling there half naked.

The man dangled like that, exposed to the elements, for approximately 15 minutes. The Skyline Express lift was stopped and eventually backed up, and Vail personnel were able to help the man dislodge himself safely from the four person chair. In a statement released by by Vail Resorts, who operates the ski area, it was reported that the man was not injured, and they claimed he was only “suspended for approximately seven minutes.” While he may not have been physically injured, I’m sure his pride was. Vail Resorts should probably gear themselves up for a lawsuit.

Right Celebrity has a no-nudity policy, so I had to black out parts of the photos, which were snapped by another skier at the resort. Click here to see the uncensored versions.

More photos and a video of the pants-less dangling Vail skier are below.