A 16-year-old girl in California was hospitalized after she fell from a chairlift at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in California because witnesses failed to catch the helpless teenager.
The unidentified teenager was riding the Stump Alley Express lift with three other riders on Saturday when the terrifying ordeal was caught on camera.
In the video, the snowboarder is seen hanging on for dear life from a chairlift as around 10 members of the resort’s ski patrol stand below him, appearing to hold a net to catch him as he prepares to release his grip.
Shocked, the girl let go and then plunged to the ground, completely missing the net.
A bone-chilling thump echoed across the slope as the teenager hit the ground below while onlookers gasped.
“The ski patrol failed this girl today, completely missed catching her with the net after assuring her everything was fine!!” video captions are read.
“Told him Just to jump I heard the ski patrol say they had never done this before and were inexperienced for this situation!! Mammoth needs to do better!!”
A spokesperson for the resort told KTLA 5 News that the teenager “wasn’t fully seated” and started sliding out of her chair as she went up the slope.
“Another individual who was on the chair held the guest and kept him from falling when the Elevator Operator stopped the elevator,” said a spokesperson for the resort.
The unidentified teenage snowboarder was seen walking down the lift towards ski patrol members. lunar_rock_maxx / Instagram Surprisingly, the teenager completely missed the net and made a hard impact with the packed snow below. lunar_rock_maxx / Instagram
The teenager was immediately taken to Mammoth Hospital “for evaluation,” and his condition is unknown.
“Our thoughts are with our guests and their families,” the resort said.
Mammoth Mountain, the highest ski resort in California, has a base elevation of nearly 8,000 feet and receives about 400 inches of snow each season.
The teenager was rushed to the hospital after falling. His condition is still unknown. lunar_rock_maxx / Instagram
The elevator, built in 1997, is one of 25 that serve the 3,500-acre resort at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range.
The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) found that 86% of ski lift falls can be attributed to passenger behavior and error — with only 4% due to medical problems experienced while on the lift.
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There were only 30 ski lift-related deaths from 1973 to 2020, only eight of those deaths were due to medical issues, according to a 2021 NSAA study.
The remaining 22 deaths were due to mechanical failure, human error or undetermined causes.
Skiers ride a lift during snowfall at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. AP
Between 1973 and 2020, the industry as a whole provided more than 18.3 billion trips to guests, totaling 9.2 billion miles traveled in elevators — leading to only one fatality for every 100 million miles traveled in elevators.
The teenager’s injuries came just days after the snowboarder spent 15 hours trapped overnight in a ski gondola at the Lake Tahoe resort.
Two minutes into the descent, the gondola suddenly stops, leaving riders stuck in the air as the sun sets.
“I screamed so desperately that I lost my voice,” the snowboarder recounted.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
