Over 170 skiers rescued after Colorado ski lift cracks

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A terrain area at Winter Park Resort. Associated Press / Byron Hetzler, file

Over 170 skiers rescued after Colorado ski lift cracks

Officials in Colorado on Sunday investigated why a ski lift cracked at a resort about 70 miles west of Denver. A large gondola at Winter Park Resort stopped automatically on Sunday when it detected a crack in a structural portion of the lift, a resort spokeswoman told news agencies. It took about over five hours for rescuers to lower 174 stranded skiers and snowboarders by rope, she said.

What else is known about the incident? No injuries were reported and workers on Sunday were replacing the section of the lift that cracked. Authorities have not said what caused the crack. The resort has 21 other lifts and the incident occurred at the start of the region’s busy ski season.

Dig deeper: Listen to Nick Eicher’s report in The World and Everything in It about the winter sport combining skiing and horsemanship.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.