Skiers in chairlifts at Beech Mountain Ski Resort in North Carolina were hospitalized yesterday after a broken pipe blasted them with freezing cold water. Some were shot out of their chair by the water pressure while other lift passengers could be seen (in video below) jumping out of their seats before reaching the nightmarish spray.
Rather than apologize and take full responsibility, the resort blamed the catastrophe on a guest, according to WCNC, claiming the skier broke a hydrant by running into it (and therefore caused the disaster, rather than admitting that the resort should have stopped the ski lift to prevent people from getting stuck in the water blast).
The resort crafted a statement that minimizes the disaster, describing the skiers as merely getting "wet."
"The hydrant was under a loaded chair, resulting in several patrons getting wet," the resort said. "Our operations and safety team worked diligently to unload the lift and drain the system safely. Avery EMS transported two patrons to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. We believe everyone is okay outside of the unfortunate situation, and operations are on a regular schedule."
The owners of the resort are no doubt next in line to be hit with an icy blast of their own in the form of lawsuits.
