GILFORD, N.H. (AP) – They were going nowhere fast.

About 200 skiers got stuck for a couple of hours Sunday on Gunstock Ski Resort’s new lift. It was about 10 degrees.

The Panorama Summit lift shut down about 1:15 p.m. because of a problem with one of the wheels that helps rotates chairs around the turn at the top of the lift, general manager Greg Goddard said. The skiers were about 30 feet off the ground. No one was hurt, though many were chilled.

Rescuers lowered the stranded skiers to the ground on seats attached to ropes slung over the lift cable.

“We got hot chocolate into folks if they needed it and a hot sandwich,” said Jake Jacobsen, director for alpine activities. “A lot of blankets and a lot of hot packs.”

For the stranded skiers, the time was good for some family bonding and getting-to-know-you sessions with strangers.

Matt Mattone, 11, was supposed to ride the lift with his mom, Gayle. But his ski came loose when he was boarding, leaving Mom to travel up the mountain with a man she didn’t know and Matt to get the next chair all to himself.

“I’m with some stranger and Matthew’s all by himself on a lift,” Gayle Mattone said. “It was ‘Survivor.’ “

AP-ES-02-16-04 0837EST


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