Lake Louise, Alberta – A ski lift at Canada’s famed Lake Louise resort malfunctioned Sunday, trapping about 65 people in gondolas for hours as darkness fell and temperatures dropped below freezing.
When the resort could not get the lift working again, ski patrollers rescued the stranded passengers by traversing the cable in a feat one witness likened to something out of a James Bond movie. Resort officials said the most severe injuries were a few cases of frostbite.
Jon-Henry Vanderwerf, 10, was alone in one gondola for three hours with his 9-year-old brother, Luke.
“It was scary, it was cold, and the wind was blowing the car from side to side,” he said. “The worst part was just before they rescued us. It kept swaying and rocking.”
The evacuees were taken off the mountain by snowmobile or Sno-Cat.
There was no immediate word on injuries.
Daniel Ulmer and Ralf Schmeckenbecher, German photographers who were riding the gondola after covering World Cup ski races, said they were stuck for more than 4 1/2 hours.
“We had barely gotten on the gondola when it stopped,” Schmeckenbecher said.
Derek Goodbrand, 22, of Calgary, who also was trapped, said he was bored until the rescue started.
“It was really fun being lowered in the harness,” he said.
Michael Guiffre, a cardiologist whose 15- and 10-year-old sons were among those on the gondola, said the rescue plan was initiated only after people had been stuck for two hours.
