Skier Rescues Friend Caught on Chairlift

Mickey Wilson climbed a tower and crawled along a cable to help save another skier's life.

This is What's Trending Today.

Mickey Wilson set out to have fun skiing on a Colorado mountain.

But he wound up saving a man's life.

Wednesday night, Wilson used social media to report on his story of rescuing a friend. The images and video were published on Facebook and Instagram. They have been shared thousands of times in the past 24 hours.

If you haven't seen the video of the ski lift climb rescue from Wednesday, here it is. I will be talking about the incident with @goodmorningamerica tomorrow morning so tune in! 7-9am mountain standard time. #rightplacerighttime #thankful #slacklife #abasin #ski #skiing

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Wilson said his friend became caught on a chairlift.

Chairlifts carry people from the bottom of a mountain to its top so they can ski down the hill.

Wilson's friend was wearing a backpack. When it was time for him to get off the chairlift, the backpack became caught and he could not get off. The lift circled around and started bringing him back down the mountain.

The man was hanging from the chairlift, with the bag wrapped around his throat.

Wilson said his friend was not able to breathe.

Today I saved someone's life. I think some strange forces were at work. I planned to ski by myself today. As fate had it though, some good friends ended up recognizing me despite my ski gear, and we joined forces for an epic pow day. Again, fate intervened. One of our crew got his backpack strap stuck in the chairlift as he tried to unload and the lift dragged him back down the hill. We were on the chair lift behind so we unloaded and ran down the hill to help him when we realized the worst possible thing had happened. The backpack had wrapped around his neck and he was unconscious, dangling 10 feet above the snow. Panic set in and we struggled in vain for about a minute to build a human pyramid to get to him but the powder was too deep and we toppled over. I yelled at the lift operator asking if the lift ran in reverse and he cried no. Ski patrol was on their way but not there yet. Panic was becoming terror as we realized we were about to watch our friend die in front of our helpless eyes. Then I had a eureka moment. I realized I could climb the lift tower above the chair and climb onto the cable and shimmy down to him. I knew my slackline experience prepared me perfectly for this so I burst into action. I climbed the tower and slid down to the the chair. It was second nature, just like being on a slackline only way colder and made of steel. I climbed down the chair and I first tried to break the strap by kicking it but I couldn't. A newly arrived ski patrolman threw me a knife and I luckily caught it on the first try and cut the strap. Our friend fell like a doll into the snow. 8 or so ski patrolman then began CPR. Thankfully they were able to restore his breathing, ski him down to the base, and get him into an ambulance which rushed him to the hospital in Denver. I'd like to take this moment now to thank the #slacklife for the skills it has given me. It was incredibly fortunate I was there and able to act quickly. I'd also like to thank ski patrol for their strong work reviving our friend. I just got an update from the hospital and he's doing quite well and will be released tomorrow! #thankful #lovelife #rightplacerighttime

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Other skiers gathered under the man's chair and tried to think of a way to reach him. But they could not get him down.

Wilson had an idea. He climbed up a tall, nearby structure and then climbed across the lift's guide wire to reach his friend. He used a knife to cut the backpack strap that was caught.

His friend fell a little over three meters into the snow, where rescue workers helped revive him. They brought him down the mountain and took him to a hospital.

Wilson told a Denver newspaper it was one of the most frightening things he had ever seen.

Wilson said he was confident he could help his friend because of his experience as a competitive slackliner.

Slacklining is an acrobatic activity where a person balances and does tricks on a narrow strap tied down at both ends.

Check out the world's first DOUBLE FLIP on a highline! GGBY 2016 in Moab is wrapping up! Here was the highlight of the event for me. #trickymickey #slackline @gibbonslacklines #trickline #slacklife 📸 @purplemclaird

A post shared by Mickey Wilson (@mickeywilsonslacker) on

And that's What's Trending Today.

I'm Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

What do you think of Wilson's daring rescue? Let us know in the comments section.

Words in This Story

backpack - n. a bag for carrying things that has two shoulder straps and is carried on the back

strap - n. a narrow and usually flat piece of a material that is used for fastening, holding together, or wrapping something

revive - v. to make (someone or something) strong, healthy, or active again

confident - adj. having a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something : having confidence

acrobatic - adj. used to describe a difficult and dangerous act

skiing - n. the sport of sliding and jumping on skis

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