Slackliner rescues Colorado skier dangling unconscious from lift

DENVER - An unconscious skier who dangled from a Colorado chairlift after his backpack got caught when he fell was rescued by a professional slackliner who climbed the lift tower and slid across the cable to reach him. captured in photos and video, followed two incidents in Utah in which people got tangled in lifts as people flocked to ski slopes when a storm brought heavy snow to the Rockies.

Mickey Wilson was able to cut the strap, sending the skier falling about 10 feet into the snow below, where a paramedic and ski patrollers waited Wednesday at the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area. He was taken to a hospital and released.

The rescue,

Wilson told The Denver Post that he and some bystanders first tried to create a human pyramid to reach the skier before the plan to use his slacklining skills "snapped together."

Slacklining is similar to tightrope walking and was developed by mountain climbers as a way to test their balance. It has evolved into a sport of its own.