After spending more than two and a half hours suspended in a gondola lift at the Gore Mountain ski resort in the New York Adirondacks, an unexpected sound told Dave Higgins that he would soon be back on the ground.
He could hear ski boots stomping on the cabin’s roof. Minutes later, a rescuer lowered herself inside to free Mr. Higgins, 73, and four other passengers.
Mr. Higgins was one of at least 67 people who were stuck for hours on Wednesday in 20 gondolas at the ski area, about 90 miles north of Albany.
Rescuers climbed up lift towers, scurried across cables, then rappelled into the cabins from above, before using ropes to lower the skiers onto the snow.
Olympic Regional Development Authority, the state-owned organization that operates the Gore Mountain recreation area, said in a statement on Thursday that the gondola had stopped because of a mechanical issue. “The tower wheel assembly moved out of alignment and triggered the safety sensor,” the statement said.
The resort’s mountain operations team and rangers from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation evacuated the guests. There were no injuries reported, authorities said.
“The Olympic Regional Development Authority and Gore Mountain regret the disruption and appreciate our guests’ patience and cooperation,” the statement said. “Safety remains our top priority, and our teams are fully trained and experienced in managing situations like this.”
Mr. Higgins, a Gore Mountain season ticket holder, has been on lifts that stopped many times in his 58 years of skiing, but this was the first time the lift didn’t restart quickly. “So I actually found it to be kind of an adventure,” he said.
It was a windy day on the mountain with a high of only 19 degrees. Mr. Higgins said he had been one of the first people to get in line for the lift when it opened on Wednesday morning, and did not know that he would be spending the next couple of hours inside.
There were four others in his gondola, including a ski patroller, so the group got updates about what was going on. Another passenger was a man who had planned to ski before he needed to be at work in Albany in the afternoon. “We all agreed he had a really good excuse for not being there on time,” Mr. Higgins said.
The group was relaxed for the two and a half to three hours Mr. Higgins estimated they were stuck. Eventually, they saw a rescuer approach their gondola by cable, then they heard the ski boots on the roof.
“We heard a click and the door unlatched and she rappelled down and came into the car and then, you know, it was a little bit of joking involved too,” Mr. Higgins said. “Oh, nice of you to drop in.”
One by one, the rescuer put them in a vest and hooked the vest to cables, Mr. Higgins said. Then, they each leaned out the gondola’s door and were lowered down. Their gondola was not as high up as others, he said. Once they were on the ground, they could reach up and be handed their skis from someone still inside the gondola.
The gondolas at the park rise above vegetation to offer scenic views of the Southern Adirondacks and the High Peaks, according to the resort’s website.
Mr. Higgins skied back down the mountain, feeling a bit guilty as he passed the people still waiting to be evacuated, then had an energy bar and some hot chocolate.
He said it was not a dramatic experience and that everyone involved with the evacuation was professional, cool and calm.
The Department of Environmental Conservation said in a statement that it received a call at 9:06 a.m. on Wednesday asking for rangers to assist with the evacuation. The evacuation was completed before 2 p.m., the agency said.
Nine rangers had done gondola evacuation training at Gore Mountain with the resort’s ski patrol in November, the agency said.
The gondola was running again on Thursday, a sunny day with low wind chill and a high temperature of 23 degrees on the mountain.
Doug Zacker, another skier visiting the park, estimated that he was stuck in the gondola for just under three hours on Wednesday, with one other person, a stranger. Mr. Zacker, 55, said he learned a lot about the other passenger, who gave him great tips on places to go river rafting, before they were let out.
“Some people are calling it an evacuation, or rescue, but in my mind, I was just simply lowered down to the ground from a gondola that didn’t work anymore,” Mr. Zacker said.
On Thursday, he was back on the same gondola for another day of skiing.
Amanda Holpuch covers breaking news and other topics.
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