174 Colorado Skiers and Snowboarders Rescued After Lift Cracks

174 Colorado Skiers and Snowboarders Rescued After Lift Cracks
The sun shines onto Vasquez Cirque, new terrain for Winter Park Resort in Winter Park, Colo., in February 1997. Byron Hetzler/AP Photo
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WINTER PARK, Colo.—Officials were investigating Sunday what caused a crack in a Colorado ski lift that forced the evacuation of over 170 stranded skiers and snowboarders.

The gondola lift at Winter Park Resort, about 70 miles west of Denver, automatically stopped when it detected the crack in a structural piece of the lift just after noon on Saturday, resort spokesperson Jen Miller said. People riding in the gondolas were lowered down by ropes over the course of about five hours, she said.