Luckily a professional slackliner, Mickey Wilson, was on hand to put his uncommon skills to work. Photo: Instagram
A professional slackliner saved a man’s life on Wednesday at a Colorado ski resort by climbing a lift pole and shimmying 30 feet down the metal lift cable to his aid.
Mickey Wilson, 28, was on the chair behind the man, a friend of a friend, when the guy’s backpack strap got caught in the lift. The lift pulled him partway down the mountain before stopping. Things got worse when the man slid down the chair, his backpack strap entangling his neck, causing him to go unconscious while hanging out of reach of would-be rescuers on the ground.
After a tense moment, Wilson decided to climb the pole, slide down the metal cable and climb down onto the chair of the Arapahoe Basin chairlift.
This short video from the Denver Post show’s the scene:
Here’s how Wilson, who won the 2015 Red Bull Baylines slackline competition, describes his “eureka moment” while standing on the snow, feeling helpless:
“I realized I could climb the lift tower above the chair and climb onto the cable and shimmy down to him. I knew my slackline experience prepared me perfectly for this so I burst into action. I climbed the tower and slid down to the chair. It was second nature, just like being on a slackline only way colder and made of steel.”
Wilson climbed down onto the chair. After attempting to kick the strap free, ski patrolers threw him a knife which he used to cut the strap. The man was revived by ski patrol and then taken to a hospital.
Wilson ended his Instagram post with this gem: “I’d like to take this moment now to thank the #slacklife for the skills it has given me.”
Here’s Wilson’s heartfelt Instagram post on the rescue:
And here’s Wilson doing his thing on a normal day:
