A Montana father tragically died after falling from a chairlift when a mechanical malfunction turned a day of snowboarding into horror on the slopes — leaving his devastated wife and young son behind.
Jeff Zinne, 37, died Monday afternoon when he plummeted from a lift at Red Lodge Mountain, the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
Zinne was riding alone in a three-person lift on the peak’s Triple Lift line when some kind of mechanical problem caused him to fall to the ground below.
The father of one was rushed to a hospital, but died of his injuries.
It remains unclear how far Zinne fell or exactly what kind of issues caused his tragic fall.
Wind had been gusting upwards of 50 mph the morning of the accident, and some lift lines were closed because of it.
A spokesperson from Red Lodge said they were still investigating the accident and couldn’t comment further.
But it led to a massive evacuation of the lift, which was halted after the accident and stranded more than 100 people in the air.
Ski patrol units had to use a rope system to lower them to safety one-by-one.
The Triple Chairlift has been in operation since 1983 and was fully up to safety code with daily inspections, according to the resort. It will remain closed until the issue is assessed.
Zinne leaves behind a 2-year-old son — who knew him as “Dada guy” — and a wife, Meghan, with whom he ran a local shipping business.
“His passion for life, infectious laughter, and kind-hearted nature touched everyone around him,” a GoFundMe page for his family read.
“He was a man who always put others first, whether it was supporting his family, being there for his friends, or bringing joy to those lucky enough to spend time with him,” the page added.
Fatal accidents on ski lifts are fairly rare, according to the National Ski Areas Association.
From 1956 to 2024, there were just 35 fatal incidents — 16 of which were caused by mechanical issues.
Before Zinni’s tragic fall, the last lift death happened in 2020 when a man at Colorado’s Vail resort was asphyxiated by a piece of his clothing that became stuck in the lift.
With Post wires
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