JANUARY 6 2009

In a bizarre incident that will surely lead to litigation (or an out-of-court settlement), a skier at Colorado's ritzy Vail resort was left dangling upside down and pantsless from a chairlift last Thursday morning.

The January 1 mishap apparently occurred after the male skier, 48, and a child boarded a high-speed lift in Vail's Blue Sky Basin. It appears that the chairlift's fold-down seat was somehow not in the lowered position, which caused the man to partially fall through the resulting gap. His right ski got jammed in the ascending chairlift, and that kept him upended since his boot never dislodged from its binding.

As seen in the photos, (which were snapped by fellow skiers), the Skyline Express lift was stopped shortly after the pair's botched boarding resulted in the man dangling from the lift. The exposed skier was stuck for about 15 minutes before Vail personnel backed the lift up and successfully dislodged the unidentified man from the four-seat chair. 

In a statement released this afternoon, Vail Resorts, which operates the ski area, reported that the skier was not injured after being "suspended for approximately seven minutes." The press release did not explain how the mishap occurred, only that "the man was caught on the chair."

Well that's one way to get your name in the books of nudism....lol.  Poor guy i would have been scared to death... poor guy had a freezing bum. Of course i agree.. sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen........... ONLY IN AMERICA...LOL.

cheers.

The photographer who snapped a skier hanging upside down and pantless from a chairlift this week says he has been suspended by his employer.

Marty Odom's pictures of the unnamed skier at Colorado's Vail Resort have gained worldwide fame after he stumbled upon the incident during his day off.

But according to Mr Odom, the resort has now revoked his ski fields pass while his photography company has barred him from work until the matter is cleared up.

"Even though I never mentioned the company I worked for, Vail Resorts pulled my pass and it looks like I’m going to lose my job over a photo," Mr Odom wrote on website Transworld Snowboarding. "But the photo is worth it … I shot the best photo that I’m going to shoot all year."

The pictures show the 48-year-old man hanging naked from the waist down after his pants became caught on the chairlift.

Mr Odom's employer reportedly said he had violated the man’s privacy by taking the photos — even though the photographer did it with his own camera on his day off.

The mishap happened when the skier attempted to board a high-speed lift in Vail's Blue Sky Basin with a young child on the morning of January 1.

When he tried to climb on, the man slipped through a gap in the seat that was not properly in place, US media said.

His right ski and — more humiliatingly — his pants then jammed in the chairlift and prevented him from falling onto the snowdrift below.

He was left hanging for about seven minutes as Vail personnel stopped the lift, backed it up and dislodged the hapless skier from the four-seat chair.

Vail Resorts later issued a press release saying the man was not injured after the humiliating experience but offered no explanation as to how it happened.

How in the hell could the guys privacy be violated when it was at a public ski resort for all to see?  Such a stupid thing. One should expect something like this to be news and instantly on the web. If it were me i would have been embarassed, but wouldn't have had a problem with people seeing any photos. It isn't tasteless or disrespecful in any way. If it were a different situation.. perhaps more of a dire situation that would have called for privacy i would understand. Having the pass revoked... come on now.

The question is, I hope hes OK!! It would be scary hanging upside down like that. I hope he sues the company. These ski resorts make millions any way.