See skiers stuck on Upstate NY ski lift rescued with ropes (video)

South Bristol, N.Y. ― Bristol Mountain ski resort in Ontario County had a mechanical failure on a ski lift Saturday night that led to the evacuation of skiers stuck in the chairs using ropes.

The Comet Express chairlift halted, leaving people suspended 25 to 40 feet in the air, according to Tim Eygabroad, a member of the Bristol Mountain Ski Patrol which was in charge of the evacuation. It took about an hour and half to get everyone down, he said.

Eygabroad said ski patrol and staff received a text alert that the lift had a mechanical issue. A ski patrol team responded to the lift and began the rope evacuation, he said.

Six chairs were evacuated using the ropes. An auxiliary power source, an additional diesel engine, was used to unload guests at first, but the team had to switch to rope evacuation while mechanics worked to find what …