A trip to an Aspen, Colorado, skiing mountain went left when a skier pushed a snowboarder off a chairlift, according to the snowboarder's claims.
The Aspen Times reported that Seth Beckton was on a chairlift preparing to snowboard at the Aspen Highlands.
Beckton said in a colorful Facebook post that he made small talk with the skier next to him while they took the chairlift up the mountain. The pair spoke about the fresh snow on the grounds and Beckton said he made a comment to the skier about getting good powder shots.
The snowboarder then said the skier asked, "Are you making fun of me?" but Beckton could not tell if he was kidding or not because he could not see his face. Beckton said he replied, "Not really — but maybe," in an effort to playfully respond.
Then Beckton claimed the skier responded by saying, "If you think that's funny, do you think this is funny?" and pushed Beckton 20 to 25 feet to the ground. Because of a "large pocket of snow," he was not injured.
Beckton thinks the skier took offense to the comment, pushing him off the chairlift was his response.
Beckton said the incident happened around 9:30 a.m.
"I honestly thought I was dead," Beckton said. "because I didn't know where we were (within the lift path). It's not cool to think anyone would do that."
"I was really (shaken) up," he said. "I was like, 'Was that a joke? Did that really happen?' Because I wasn't hurt, I wasn't super-outraged. I didn't want to let it ruin my day. I decided to continue on my way."
But when Beckton told his friends, he said their reaction prompted him to report it later in the day.
"This is not the kind of behavior we want on our mountain," Jeff Hanle, spokesman for Aspen Skiing Co., said. "We will do our best to find the person."
Hanle said it would have been easier to find the skier if Beckton had reported the incident earlier.
Deputy Alex Burchetta with the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office said officers are investigating the incident and working with officials at the skiing mountain.
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