Dozens of skiers and snowboarders had to be rescued after being trapped for hours on a broken chairlift at a ski resort near Ottawa on Saturday.
The chairlift at Mont Ste. Marie, located in Lac-Sainte-Marie, Que., had mechanical issues and shut down sometime around noon, according to Bob Suderman, co-owner of resort. But all of the 80 riders were rescued from the lift shortly before 4 p.m.
Madeline Moffatt tried cheer up fellow riders as they endured the cold temperatures.
"I was entertaining these four kids on the chairlift and two were so stunned they couldn't even talk," she said.
"They were also very, very cold."
Ski Patrol eventually helped skiers and snowboarders rappel down to safety.
"We used climbing equipment, and people got down that way -- in seat harnesses," Suderman said.
"We threw a climbing apparatus over the cable and then people just attached themselves to it and lowered down," he added.
With cold winter temperatures on the horizon, management worked quickly to get them off the lift.
The problem arose after a ball bearing at the end of the lift malfunctioned. The repairs couldn’t be performed safely with riders on the lift.
Lac-Sainte-Marie is approximately 82 kilometres north of Ottawa.
