On Monday, December 23, 2024, two chairs on Heavenly’s Comet lift collided, causing several riders to fall about 30 feet into the snow. It took us back to our own experience at Heavenly a few years ago, when something similar happened on the old North Bowl Chair, around the same time of year. Rappelling off a chairlift—something I never imagined I’d have to do—became an unexpected reality. It certainly wasn’t part of my plan for the last day of Christmas break, but that’s exactly what happened. Though the situation was a bit unnerving, we came out of it unscathed. In fact, it turned into a surprisingly exciting adventure, and we ended up making a lot of new friends along the way.

How Did We End Up Repelling off a Chairlift?

The original plan for the day was to check out Angora Ridge on our brand-new splitboards. Unfortunately, half of the crew with backcountry experience was sidelined by the flu. So, instead of heading out willy-nilly, we decided to get a feel for our new splitboards and dial in our gear on the slopes. Still recuperating from our New Year’s Eve bash at Steamers, we woke up a bit later than usual. Poking our heads outside, we noticed cloudy skies and temperatures above freezing for the first time in over a week. Typically, we would head over to the Stagecoach Lodge, but since the lot was already full, our parking decision was made for us, and we headed to Boulder Lodge instead.

Chair Suddenly Falls!

Everything seemed pretty typical as we rode the Boulder lift up and transferred to the North Bowl Chair. This lift accesses a ton of great terrain, but at the time, it was a fixed-grip chair, so we usually used it to shuttle us over to the main part of the mountain. As we slowly ascended past Tower 5, for some reason, Jaime glanced over at the descending chairs. Without warning, one of the heavy chairs suddenly slid off the line, dropping swiftly into the snow below with an eerily quiet “poof!” We stared at it in pure shock as the lift continued to climb. “Did that just really happen?” Within moments, the lift came to a sudden stop. “Uh oh… looks like it did!”

Rescue Team? What Does That Mean?

Sitting there, we waited patiently, unsure of what was going to happen next. A few minutes later, a ski patroller appeared under the lift line. He asked if everyone was okay. After we nodded, he informed us that mechanics were on their way to determine the best course of action.

Fifteen minutes later, we were notified that a rescue team had been assembled and was on its way. “Rescue team?!? What does that mean?” We were then told that they’d evacuate us off the chairlift by rappelling us down. Jaime and I were in pure shock and a little freaked out by the news.

After what seemed like an eternity to our frazzled nerves, rescue was finally in sight—but not in the way we had originally expected.

Off in the distance, the team of rescuers appeared. One ski patroller scrambled quickly up the tower, like a monkey with the line, while the others guided the ropes into place from below. Swiftly and safely, each chair’s occupants were slowly lowered to the ground until it was our turn.

As the small wooden seat was raised, we were instructed to lasso the rope over our shoulders. Scooting slowly off the chairlift and onto the rescue seat, we put our lives—figuratively—into the ski patroller’s hands. Gripping the metal pole in front of us tightly, we were slowly lowered down. The fear started to dissipate, and it actually became fun. I mean, how many people get to be rescued off a chairlift? Not many!

Landing safely on the ground, they took our contact info, and we were allowed to ride down. Strapping into our boards, our adrenaline was still pumping from the experience. The sensation was heightened as we slashed through the powder, unable to contain our ear-to-ear grins.

How did ski patrol and Heavenly staff handle it?

Looking back, everyone on the North Bowl lift that day was VERY lucky, considering what could’ve been a disastrous experience, as we saw with the Comet incident. While we never found out why a chairlift fell off the lift line, the ski patrollers involved were very professional and extremely knowledgeable. In addition to how they handled the situation, Heavenly management provided everyone there with free lift ticket vouchers, a few drinks, and lunch to help calm our nerves.