More than 170 skiers and snowboarders rescued after ski lift cracks in Colorado

More than 170 skiers and snowboarders were left stranded on a Colorado ski lift after part of it cracked.

Officials are investigating what caused a break in a structural part of the lift at Winter Park Resort in the Rocky Mountains on Saturday.

The lift automatically stopped after the crack was detected while people were riding the gondolas, leaving 174 stranded.

Resort spokesperson Jen Miller said the rescue operation took around five hours, ending at around 6pm local time, with people lowered down by ropes.

Ski patrol staff entered the cabin of each gondola from above and then lowered people’s equipment to the ground before using a rope equipped with a seat to lower passengers, Ms Miller said.

No injuries were recorded, and workers were replacing the section of the lift that cracked on Sunday.

But Ms Miller told the Colorado Sun it’s unclear how long it will take to repair.

“It’s a bummer for sure,” she said. “But malfunctions do happen and our teams are trained. It’s not an overnight fix. We’re not sure how long it’s going to take to fix it.”

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She also told the local news outlet that it was the first time the ski lift – which opened at the resort around Christmas in 2018 – had been evacuated.

The resort still had 21 other lifts open.