Skier rescued while dangling from Utah chair lift by his backpack

SUNDANCE, Utah, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A visitor to a Utah ski resort recorded the rescue of a boy who was left danging by his backpack when the bag became stuck on a chair lift.

Clint Ashmead, 47, was riding the chair lift with his sons Monday at the Sundance Resort when a boy a couple of chairs away fell out of his seat and was left dangling by a single strap of his backpack.

The boy kicked off his skis and employees with a ladder helped him back into the chair so they could untangle his bag from the chair.

The incident came after another boy was rescued from a similar backpack-related predicament at the same resort last month.

Sundance Resort said guests are asked to wear their backpacks on the front while riding the chair lift to prevent them from becoming tangled.

"I was impressed with how the lift operations people handled the situation," Ashmead told the Daily Herald newspaper. "I want to applaud how Sundance handled it."

Ashmead said he doesn't blame the resort, despite the repeat occurrences.

"I don't see a correlation in the two incidences. I really don't, other than the lack of education and awareness of the skier or the boarder," Ashmead told KSTU-TV.