One young snowboarder was among a number of skiers and others who got more than they bargained for on the slopes this weekend at Marble Mountain.

A mechanical malfunction of the resort’s chair lift caused hundreds of skiers and snowboarders to be evacuated from 40
chairlifts including 10-year-old Owen McCarthy.

He says he was on the lift for around a minute before it stopped. One minute turned into ten, then half an hour, and so on.

Owen guesses he and his friend were on the lift for three hours before they were finally rescued.

He says rescuers had to use a slingshot with a magnetic puck that attached to the lift to get a rope to them. The rope had a chair attached, so they could finally scale their way back down.

Despite the ordeal, Owen says he was never scared. In fact, he is eager to get back to the mountain, as snowboarding is one of his favourite things to do. Marble Mountain is expected to be closed until at least Wednesday