Skiers Stranded on Chairlift for Hours 

Montana ski patroller here, seeing a lot of negativity thrown around here. Generally, when this sort of thing happens, we would try and switch the power to an APU (auxiliary power unit) run on diesel. This takes 10-20 minutes to switch over. If unsuccessful, evacs begin. On a fully loaded weekend chairlift - a full evac top to bottom could take up to 4 hours. This is not easy work for the patrollers. Once the rope is setup, you can evac 3 people off a chair in a few minutes. But to go from chair to chair takes a long time. The patrol at whitefish did their best in these circumstances, and should not receive any hate. These things happen.

Everyone went home safely. Bravo ski patrol. Much respect for the hard work you do.

This reminds me of the original “frozen” movie

I was on the lift when it was evacuated on December 28th. I'm gonna say I was actually only 6 chairs behind where this lady filmed her video. Whitefish was undergoing a weird weather cycle where it had been raining in town and on the mountain for the previous several days. I was on the the lift for nearly 3 hours and it had been snowing for the first hour or so until the snow stopped and the weather started to warm quickly, wetting peoples ski gear. In the last hour or so the weather started to get cold again and peoples wet ski gear started to freeze up causing some unhappy individuals, myself included. I even witnessed people jump off their chair to the snow below. Wasn't the best of days for Whitefish Mountain Resort! Especially during the holiday rush!

There’s a horror movie about this exact situation and it’s terrifying! Glad everyone is safe

This happened to a friend of mine but he was only 6-10 feet from the ground so after 15-30 min he jumped off and the ski patrol grabbed him and made him watch a 2 hr safety video.

I've jumped from ski lifts before when this has happened, it's honestly way less difficult than you would think (depending on the height) and better than waiting for evac. I don't think anyone should be blaming ski patrol here, this type of stuff happens and that's the risk you take.

This reminds me of the 2010 movie Frozen, no not the Disney movie. But at least things turned out good in the end for them

As a chairlift operator, this stuff happens. We try as hard as we can. I know it's scary. Trust me I've been there but there's only so mauch we can do with there being a lot of chairs. Glad everyone is okay though

I've never skied before, but I couldn't imagine the fear they had. I'm so glad their okay.

Great plot for a movie!

Glad they finally got help🙏🏽🙏🏽 i couldn't imagine being in this type of situation i watch way too many movies where this happens

90% of what I carry in my backpack is for just this very reason! Space blanket big enough to cover 3 people, hand warmers, snacks, hat, sometimes another vest for layering, and water.

This happened to me more than once when I worked at a ski resort. Luckily, it was only staff up there at these times. I feel their pain!

Yeah I was a stuck on the ski lift with a buddy of mine and his girlfriend, my friend ended up jumping off the ski lift which caused him to break his legs and in due time wolves showed up and ate him alive, meanwhile I darelessly tried to grab onto the cable to get across to a ladder on the other side but it was razor sharp so I couldn't. We all died because it was so cold we couldn't see our breath.

I want to hear from the people who made the jump from the chair! I bet someone was in a spot where it was possible!

This never happens on my couch... 😂

This reminds me of Frozen 2010. No not Disney’s Frozen 2013. 😑

Everyone needs to understand it takes time to get people evacuated off a ski lift. It happened to me on my own lift! The engine had a melt down. I wasn't where I should have been. It took only minutes for mechanics to come look for us. It was after hours they could have over looked us. But they did not! That is how great our Mt. was. They checked just to make sure no one was on the lift. Ski patrol came and got us down.( thanks Pete) towed us out. I am not sure what happened there exactly, but being paintent is key in this situation. I know how our guys handled it. Thanks Mt. Crested Butte

That’s so scary, they were very brave. I remember when my little son was about 8 and was falling out of a lift in CA. WE TRIED SO HARD TO Hold on to him until he told us to let him go. Fortunately, it was only 15 or so feet above the ground and he landed in soft snow. As a mom, it was a nightmare for me.

That's amazing they got it done in 3 hours. I was stuck on one for 90 minutes on a short Minnesota chair Lift, about a 5th the length of a mountain chair lift. All I got was a free pass to come back another day for being stuck there an hour past closing time. Apparently the brake was stuck and could not be released.

I got stuck on a lift at Mammoth for 3 hours in negative 30 temperatures before. Always keep a few extra hand warmers food and water with you because you never know. I was ready to jump and get help but my big sister said not to leave her alone.

Can't imagine. I feel so bad for all of those people who were stuck. That would be quite frustrating!!!

On Christmas morning a few years back, the quad lift had to be shut down due to high winds. (Wind chill was like -40F). Because of the holiday, and the timing of day (around 09:00), there were only a few ski patrol on. The total lift evacuation took about 5 hours, and all you got for the evacuation was a rope looped in a circle.

This happened to me a couple years ago in timberline WV me my friend were night skiing and the lift just stopped. It was dark and freezing and the auxiliary power didn’t work for whatever reason. It took them about an hour and a half when they finally got a generator or something to get it moving again. Where we were was like a 60 ft drop and we kept asking eachother if we would have to jump. None of us had service either so we couldn’t contact our parent or anyone so we had no idea what was happening. I think it stopped at around 7:45 and we finally got to the top around 9:15. One of the craziest experiences of my life

For them to complain is just stupid you know the risks when you go skiing or snowboarding! Be grateful ur alive n well 🙏

omg. this reminds me of that one movie in 2010 called "frozen" where 3 people were stuck on a chairlift for hours! glad they're ok!

I am thankful everyone is okay. God is watching over you all 🙏❤

I remember when the chairlift got stuck a few times when it was new at the local agriculture center where the state fair is held.

It's crazy how I was just now talking about going to Montana in February and now this makes me not even want to get on those things

I’ve gotten stuck. Not in snowing seasons thank god. But that didn’t stop me from peeing lol. Only took them an hour for us. Glad no one died up there.

I love Whitefish Mountain! Great ski resort and what a beautiful place!!!

Whitefish is an excellent mountain to ski, this can happen to any lift anywhere anytime. Evacs do take a little time once thats decided. Wouldnt stop me from going right back!

Glad they got help

My dad evacuated so many of these people do shout out to him and his outstanding and amazing co-workers

Live in Washington with a ski area just outside of town. Our hill has had evacuations from a stalled chairlift that have taken a few hours to get everyone off the chairlift. It is no fun I am sure but so far it hasn’t happened to me. We get really high winds at the summit that can cause the chairlift to the top to close down.

It’s not very often they make a movie years before it’s based on a true story…

I remember from the scene of the movie called "frozen"

OMG!! This just like the movie Frozen I just watched. These friends were stuck on a chair lift but there ending wasn't as fortunate. I won't spoil the movie, but watch!

Reminds me of the movie Frozen where 3 friends got stuck on a ski lift for an entire weekend.

This reminds me of the horror movie “Frozen” (NOT the Disney film lol)-it’s a psychological thriller about this exact scenario! Super scary!

Note to self, never go on to a chairlift with any kind of urge to use the bathroom.

Just like the movie. Nice.

Happy that everyone ended up safe! Perhaps a new invention, the t-bar lower-er, installed on every chair? Extra $2 per day ticket

I have gotten stuck A ski lift before but for three hours that must be terrifying and freezing even with the winter clothes on thank God they’re wearing something warm

That's nothing. I got stuck for 7 hours at Snowmass near Aspen back in the late 90s.

I remember watching a movie like this. Two girls and 1 guy left behind overnight stuck up there when an operator thought everyone had gone home. Only one of them survived. Scary movie lol

Glad everyone is ok !!!

I always think about this when my chair is over a high, rocky area, but I hope I'm lower to the ground if it ever stops and loses power!

So no one jumped off of it and was mauled by wolves?

This happened to me when I was a teen. For hours and it was dark and super cold. They used the rope thing too finally when they figured out it wasn’t getting fixed anytime soon.

Hero's thank goodness everyone was safe

What would suck is the rescue team accidentally skips you

I would've jumped and skied down. Looks hella fun

Sounds like they had a blast!!!

That happened to us when we were about 15 years old. We talked about jumping off, we were only 20 feet up or something, but we didn't have the guts. Fortunately we were only there for 45 minutes or so. Park West in Utah back in the day, before it was Canyons or whatever ...

Omg…. This is an actual movie too😭😭😂

Ski lifts should have rope ladders on each side of the cart in case one breaks. Have them rolled up until needed. Problem solved. Also build the carts closer to the ground.

almost like this could be the subject of a movie

Finally part 2 whoohoo

It's as if the ski lift operator was trying to run the business like an airline but had no tarmac to strand the customers. The next thing you know they'll also lose your luggage!

Didn't they make movie about this, frozen or something 🤔

as a person that ski’s this is my worst fear especially when I ski alone.

When I saw the title of the video, I was immediately reminded of the movie ‘Frozen’, about three teens trapped on a ski lift and pack a hungry wolves swarming below them😬

It's definitely not the most ideal situation, but they're on a ski slope, so they're probably dressed in several warm layers to begin with, so not the worst thing ever. Also, if you keep wiggling your fingers and toes throughout, that helps keep circulation going in "first to frostbite" areas.

They should have been looking to rescue those people (especially children) after 20 mins of not being able to repair the chair lift. I think their response was unacceptable.

I was stuck on a chair for over 6 hours once. I guess I should have cried and recorded it.

Used to be a lift operator in Colorado all our lift's have back up diesel engines and generators for that reason

Ok, at this point, there should be some emergency button to get out if there’s ever another situation like this.

Frozen

As a former lifty I always carry my evac gear when I ski I'll get myself and anyone in the chair with me down.

Glad everyone made it out safe! Ski Patrol took their time and made sure everyone went home alive. Don’t remember if they mentioned how high up they were, but I imagine one mistake and someone could have fallen to their death.

Wow, and I thought all those starving kids in India had it bad.

That's a difficult situation definitely. A high price to pay just for a day on the slopes. Hopefully they got some accountability afterwards.

I was just talking about this with my friends, we snowboard in Chamonix France, that would be so frightening!!

It’s amazing first world people consider being stuck on a chairlift, while on vacation, something to cry about.

Cold!!! ❄️

When I seen the post a video I’m thinking this is like the movie frozen. Obviously not but still scary I would imagine. I know it can take a long time for them to evacuate each person and they’re quite lucky. They got evacuated in four hours. Good job to the patrollers.

Scary 😨 thank goodness they're safe.

Nothing is funnier than when my sister and I were ready to jump of the ski lift and our skis got tangled LOL!!!!

My son and I were on the lift for four hours. Fortunately we had good friends throw food and hand warmers up to the chair for us and our chair mates.

Omg it’s time to cry

Good for you

Cold and scared...priceless!

That's nothing. One time I was at the mall when the escalator broke down, and it was almost a day before they got it going again. They had to send up Chipotle.

Good time to write your name in the snow. 🌨

I respect the people stuck for trying to see the brighter side of the event and I am also glad it was 3 hours and they didn't just leave them there.......An amtrak train was stuck for 24 hours and people were locked in it with no food because of a frieght train collision further down the line......They refused to open the train doors and they could have easily backtracked to the nearest station to get food.

Reminds me of the movie Frozen 😍🙏

There's a thriller movie about three people stuck in this exact situation.

Must have been rough, but at least the park didn't close down for the weekend, like that movie Frozen (2010). I still get the heebie jeebs thinking about that movie.

2023 off to a great start.

This is a movie. At least this version ended happily!

I was at Jack Frost when a similar situation happened. Before it was our turn, the ski lift stopped and everybody on there was stuck up for about an hour. We didn’t get stuck up there, instead we had to walk up the whole hill

Thankful EVERYONE is safe!! And no one was alone. Hopefully you made New Life long friends in an unexpected way!! And Family memories were made in spite of it all. My Granddad ALWAYS said dont allow a potty break to go by...I Never dreamed how true this would be getting stuck on a ski lift...Granddad was ALWAYS right. STOP go to the RR one more time...🙏♥️🚽🤣

One time, I was in line for the lift and it stopped. I thought that it was for somebody that was having a hard time but it was broken. It was for 5-10 minutes. It was at hidden valley pa. W

happened to me once. i just dropped in. the impact was surprisingly smooth. i've seen heliboarders drop in so i figured what the hell lol

Note to self. Always use bathroom before ski lift. And maybe pack a small lunch. And few extra heated packs. And extra battery for phone to watch movies with strangers 🙃

*Discontent rises greatly*

I saw this movie. Didn't end so well though.

Glad y'all were ok!