Ryan Spencer/Summit Daily News
Falls from chairlifts injure skiers and snowboarders every year in Colorado, but the vast majority are caused by user error rather than mechanical failure, according to the state Tramway Safety Board.
Colorado, which hosts about a quarter of all U.S. skier visits each year, has recorded an average of about 14 people injured in lift falls each season since the 2019-20 winter season, data from the state’s Trail Safety Board show. During the same 5-season period, the Colorado Tramway Safety Board has recorded two fatal lift accidents. None of the cases have been reported to have been caused by an elevator malfunction.
“Cableways (including chairlifts, trams and gondolas) and surface lifts (like a magic carpet) are the safest form of transportation in the United States,” National Ski Areas Association Communications Director Tonya Riley said in an email. “Ski areas across the US have excellent uphill scores.”
So far this season, five lift accidents have been reported to the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board, including four that occurred at Summit County ski resorts.
On December 11, a 32-year-old man air transportation from Keystone Resort after falling 47 feet from the Ruby Express chairlift. A witness sitting in the same seat as the man reported that he appeared to be adjusting his restraint while the restraint bar was in the upright position, according to the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board.
In December there were also two people injured in fall from Beaver Run Chair on Peak 9 at Breckenridge within a week of each other. Railroad Safety Board documents Summit Daily News obtained through a records request say alcohol may have been involved in both of those incidents.
In another incident, a snowboarder fell from a chairlift at Copper Mountain on Monday, Jan. 6, while pushing forward to release the lift, and slid from the chair after the barrier was raised, according to the Railroad Safety Board.
Last season, a 60-year-old skier died after falling from the Zendo chair at Breckenridge Ski Resort. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office said at the time that the man fell while trying to remove snow from the seat surface.
Deaths from lifting falls are still “extremely rare,” Riley said. Nationwide data shows that over the past 10 years, there has been an average of 0.8 fatalities per year compared to the estimated 450 million passengers transported by chairlifts and gondolas annually, she said.
In fact, National Ski Areas Association data from ski area cable car systems shows an incident rate of one fatality per 570 million chairlift rides — or less than one fatality for about every half a billion chairlift rides, Riley said. Meanwhile, deaths related to mechanical failures of chairlifts are still rare, with one fatality for about every 1.5 billion chairlift rides, she said.
In Colorado, the only known cases related to a lift failure in the past 39 years occurred at Ski Granby Ranch on Dec. 29, 2016, according to the state’s Railroad Safety Board. An adult woman died after falling from the Quick Draw chairlift during that event, which was caused by problems with the elevator’s electrical drive and control systems, according to previous reporting.
“A skier or rider’s own behavior has as much to do with the safety of the sport as any equipment, from helmets to chairlifts,” Riley said. “One of the key elements included in the industry’s Your Responsibility Code is that skiers and riders ‘must know how and be able to load, ride and unload chairlifts safely.’
Common behaviors that lead to falls from chairlifts include dropping equipment, playing horse or taking selfies, bending over to check one’s bindings, boots or equipment, and medical incidents such as seizures, strokes or heart attacks, Riley said. She noted that there have also been some cases of people jumping out of their seats early, which is illegal.
Still, even though lift falls are rare, many skiers and riders in Colorado can take one more step to protect themselves against a potential fall: lowering the belay bar. One study found that in the Rocky Mountain region — which includes Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Utah and New Mexico — the restraint bar was only used about 40% of the time.
While higher than the Midwest, where the restraint bar was used less than 10% of the time, and the Pacific Southwest, where it was used about 18% of the time, it was significantly less than the Northeast, where the bar was lowered about 80% of the time, according to the study.
In the Rocky Mountain region, the study found that bar use increased dramatically to about 84%, when children were present on the lift, compared to lifts where only adults rode.
Although there are no laws in Colorado that require the restraint bar to be lowered, the National Ski Areas Association and ski areas strongly recommend the use of the bar.
