A 7-year-old girl fell about 26 feet from Lift 1 Sunday at Purgatory Resort.
The girl was in “stable” condition Sunday after the accident, said Kim Oyler, spokeswoman for Purgatory Resort, in an email to The Durango Herald.
The fall occurred about 9:35 a.m. as the chair approached tower 20, near the unloading zone at the top of the mountain.
“From preliminary reports given by eyewitnesses, it is believed that after the arm bar was raised near the unloading zone, the female skier leaned forward and fell out of the chair,” Oyler wrote.
The lift operator immediately called Purgatory Ski Patrol, which arrived on scene at 9:38 a.m., the news release says. An ambulance was called, and the skier was taken by ambulance to Mercy Regional Medical Center.
The identity of the girl and an updated condition were unavailable Monday. Purgatory does not release the name or hometown of skiers injured in accidents, and Mercy Regional Medical Center does not release the condition of patients unless a patient’s name can be provided and the patient consents to release of information.
Lift 1, the six-pack on the front side of the mountain, was operating normally Sunday and has been operating normally since the fall, Oyler said.
As required by the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board’s Rules and Regulations, the incident was reported to the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board.
shane@durangoherald.com