Resort Guest Falls 20 Feet from New Hampshire Ski Lift: ‘It's a Nightmare’

Mar. 15, 2025

A ski lift at a New Hampshire resort remains temporarily closed after a guest fell from their chair over the weekend.

The individual, who has only been identified as an adult male, fell approximately 20 feet from the ski lift at Attitash Mountain Resort in Bartlett, on the Flying Bear chairlift around 12:15 p.m. local time on Sunday, Feb. 2, theAssociated Pressreported.

“Representatives of the lift manufacturer have also been present on scene and are assisting with and fully cooperating in the ongoing investigation,” the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office said ina press releaseon Monday, Feb. 3.

Attitash Mountain in January 2024.Spencer Platt/Getty

Spencer Platt/Getty

“Based on the preliminary investigation, it appears a mechanical failure caused one of the chairs to dislodge from the cable,” the fire marshal’s office said.

David Gunzburger, a witness who had been skiing that day, told NBC affiliateWMURthat the person who fell was taken away with a neck brace.

“I’m there a lot and so it’s kinda scary, it’s a nightmare. The worst possible situation,” he told the news station.

Gunzburger continued, “I was riding the singles line and I said it to the guy I was with, like ‘Are we really gonna do this?’ We kinda look at each other like yeah, let’s get on it.”

As he was riding the Flying Bear chairlift, Gunzburger noticed it stopped for about 10 minutes as a ski patrol arrived and carried a man away.

“He was backboarded, neck brace on,” the witness said.

According to the fire marshal, the man who fell was taken to a local hospital and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. As of Monday afternoon, he had been released from the hospital.

No other injuries were reported, and other passengers who were on the ride at the time were let off at the top of the lift as usual.

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The Flying Bear chairlift was last inspected in November 2024, the fire marshal’s office said. Inspections are to be completed annually, in addition to random checks that happen throughout the year.

The New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Passenger Tramway Safety Board will be investigating the incident.

source: people.com