Skier Throws Snowboarder Off Chairlift

A skier threw a snowboarder from a chairlift in Aspen on Sunday after the snowboarder, 28-year-old Seth Beckton, advised the skier how to get “tits-deep pow shots,” as reported by The Aspen Times. The final battle has begun.

“I honestly thought I was dead,” Beckton, who fell 20 to 25 feet, said, adding, “It’s not cool to think anyone would do that.”

Beckton, the skier, and an as-yet-unnamed third person were riding the chairlift up Aspen Snowmass while discussing the differences between skiers and snowboarders and the two disciplines’ respective abilities to score “face-shots” (not what you’re thinking). That’s when Beckton made his “tits-deep” comment, to which the skier took umbrage and responded by throwing him from the lift.

Luckily for Beckton, he landed in a stash of soft snow and was unharmed. According to a Facebook post that evening, he spent the rest of the day “on the lookout for the suspect without luck,” only reporting the incident later that day after encouragement from friends.

Jeff Hanle, Director of Public Relations for the Aspen Skiing Company, which owns Snowmass, told Deadspin that the incident is under investigation through the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.

Snowboarders are still not allowed on several major ski resorts across the country, including at Alta in Utah, a decision that is currently under appeal with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. A ruling is expected within the next few months.

Photo: Alex Indigo/ Flickr