Dramatic moment skier is found hanging unconscious from a chairlift after his backpack tangled around his neck – before being rescued by professional slackliner
Mickey Wilson, who was in the chairlift behind the dangling man, used his skills to cut him free with a knife tossed by a sky patrolman from the ground
THIS is the heart-stopping moment an unconscious man found hanging by the neck from a chairlift is rescued after being cut down by professional slackliner.
Footage shows a man was left dangling 10 feet above the snow after getting caught in the neck by his own backpack as he tried to get off the chair.
An unconscious man was left dangling 10 feet above the snow after he got caught on the chair lift
Mickey Wilson, 28, is the professional slackliner who cut the man free and recalled the terrifying scene at the Arapahoe Basin chairlift in Lenawee Mountain Keystone, Colarado, on Wednesday.
He told : “It was one of the most scary things I’ve ever seen, honestly."
“Just seeing a person get the life sucked out of them. I kind of stopped thinking and just started acting.”
Wilson, also a part-time ski instructor , said he freed the man by using a knife tossed to him by a sky patrolman from the ground.
He revealed he was sitting in the chair behind the man when they saw the horrific scene unfold.
"As he tried to get off, his backpack caught, and because he was on the outside of the chairlift, he went around the emergency chairlift shut-off [trigger]," Wildon said. "He was not only caught, he was literally being hung by his neck by his backpack."
In an Instagram post about the rescue, Wilson said after the operator stopped the lift, he and others tried to build a human pyramid to reach the dangling man.
He wrote: “Panic was becoming terror as we realised we were about to watch our friend die in front of our helpless eyes."
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But he said he “had a eureka moment” and decided to climb the lift tower and crawl down to the lift to try and free the man.
“It was second nature, just like being on a slackline only way colder and made of steel,” Wilson said.
CPR was performed on the man after he fell to the ground before being rushed to hospital.
Wilson added: "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.
Wilson said the man is "doing quite well" and is shortly due to be released from hospital.
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