An experienced skier who was swept off a stranded chairlift by 70mph winds thought she was going to die, as viral footage showed she and a friend were violently thrown into their seats about 30 feet off the ground.
Stephanie Burt traveled with her family and longtime friend Barnaby Dunning to the Cervino ski resort in Italy earlier this week for a dream ski trip, only to find themselves in a nightmare when the winds intensified during a chairlift ride.
Horrifying video showed Ms Burt and Mr Dunning being tossed about by the gusts as a gondola opposite threatened to collide with theirs during the 40-minute ordeal, in which another screaming skier fell from his seat to the ground. floor.
But bosses at the Breuil-Cervinia resort, operated by Cervino SpA in the shadow of the iconic Matterhorn, allegedly tried to downplay the danger the mother-of-two and her lifelong friend were in, angering the mother after his terrifying experience.
And interior designer Ms Burt, who has been skiing since she was three and growing up in her native New Zealand, has vowed not to ski in Italy again unless the resort tightens its safety protocols.
Stephanie Burt, 48, who feared she had died after being swept down a chairlift by high-speed winds at an Italian ski resort.
Mrs. Burt and Mr. Dunning’s skis can be seen hanging from the chairlift as they are pushed by the wind (left, circled). Another angle shows the lone skier on the lift behind the jump to save his life (right, circled)
Mrs Burt, photographed in the shadow of the Matterhorn with one of her children and her husband, had been skiing at the Matterhorn resort in Breuil-Cervinia.
He went skiing with his family and his lifelong friend Barnaby Dunning (in the brown jacket, right)
“They are cleaning their hands and I don’t think there is any safety protocol,” he told MailOnline.
‘We spent 40 minutes holding on for life, listening and there has been no communication, and no one has checked to see if we are okay.
“We were traumatized. I was shocked. And they think that our lives were not at risk. It’s crazy.’
Mrs Burt, 48, a mother of two, and Mr Dunning, a friend from university, headed to the Cretaz chairlift towards the end of the day on Thursday when visibility began to decline.
They had used the transporter earlier in the day and the lift operator at the station did not suggest it was unsafe.
But five minutes into the ride, near the top, the lifts were disabled because wind tolerances of 70 kmh (43 mph) had been exceeded, leaving the couple and another passenger in the gondola behind, literally writhing in the wind. .
“Our butts were out of the seats, we were clinging to the front bubble and literally swinging in the air,” he recalled.
‘The only reason I’m alive is because I was there with Barnaby, who weighs 100kg and I could hold him. At one point, my ski was over my shoulder.’
As seen in the video, the gondola in front began to sway and spin vigorously in the frenetic gales, and at several points threatened to cross paths with Mrs Burt and Mr Dunning, whose skis can be seen dangling from the seat.
The lone skier in the back chair, he recalled, was “screaming” as the wind whipped his seat.
The plastic bubble meant to protect him from the elements during the trip had been torn open and was acting “like a sail,” hitting his chair even more violently.
He eventually fell from his chair to the ground, a horrifying moment caught on camera by another skier who shared the video on social media.
A witness said he had later seen the man walking with the ski patrollers and that he had been flown to hospital, and Ms. Burt was later played a recording of her telling the police that he had jumped, fearing for his safety if he stayed still.
Cervino SpA had previously told other media outlets, including bbc newsthat all passengers had “arrived safely at their destination.”
Mrs Burt continued: ‘Her screams were heartbreaking. She sounded like she was falling towards her death. In that elevator the fear of God was instilled in me. “It was the scariest experience of my life.”
Through tears she added that she had thought about never seeing her two children, ages nine and 11, or her husband again.
“The chair on the left was swaying a few inches from us, so I thought about jumping, I thought about it three times,” he said.
‘We thought they were going to knock us down and kill us, and we discussed whether it would be better to have broken legs or a broken pelvis and be alive (from jumping) rather than being knocked down.
‘I remember thinking to myself: “I have to hold on.” I thought about my children, my husband. Barney said, “Don’t jump.”
The Cretaz ski lift at Cervino ski resort in northern Italy, near the Swiss border and in the shadow of the iconic Matterhorn.
Stephanie Burt with her two children on a ski vacation in the Alps. She said she feared she would never see her children again when the wind shook the chairlift.
Interior designer Ms Burt is a lifelong skier, having first hit the slopes at the age of three in her native New Zealand (pictured in Flaine, France, Christmas pass).
Mrs. Burt with one of her children. She has criticized Cervino station bosses for not taking her concerns about chairlift safety seriously.
About 20 minutes after the ordeal, complex workers arrived to climb the pylon next to theirs to supposedly fix a sensor that would allow the elevator to start moving again.
Mrs Burt says the pair climbed the pole, about 30 feet above the ground, without any safety equipment amid high winds, a claim denied by the resort.
Eventually the chairlift headed to the top of the Torrette Plan slope, allowing Mrs Burt and Mr Dunning to dismount, at which point she fell to her knees in shock.
She claims there was no lift operator at the summit station, meaning the two were left alone to compose themselves after their near-death experience before mustering the courage to ski back down.
She barely remembers the descent, relying on muscle memory to get down the slope while full of adrenaline and still in shock.
Upon returning to the resort, he demanded a meeting with the resort’s bosses and on Friday sat down with president Federico Maquignaz and chief engineer Mauro Joyeusaz to tell them about the traumatic experience.
But he left the audience more upset than before after, he claims, they refused to take his safety concerns seriously and tried to “clean their hands of it”.
Mrs Burt recalled: ‘They tried to say we were never in danger. I think they could have said they would look at their staff’s communication, but that was it.
“The only thing they said to me was, ‘I’m sorry you were afraid.’ There was not a hint of sympathy, there was no ‘that shouldn’t have happened’, just that the chairs were ‘operating within their limits.’
‘But if my nine-year-old son had been in that elevator, he wouldn’t be here today. If he had been alone in that elevator, he wouldn’t be here today to tell the story.
‘After skiing for so long, I know that the environment can change very quickly, but we also rely on their technical knowledge to make sure we are safe.
‘They said they have been operating since 1936 and have never had a death. She was damn close.
He added: “I’ve skied in Canada, in North America, I grew up skiing in New Zealand, I’ve skied in Europe.” “I will never ski in Italy again.”
MailOnline has contacted the complex’s president, Mr Maquignaz, and chief engineer, Mr Joyeusaz, for comment.
A spokesperson for Cervino station responded on his behalf and could not be contacted due to the Easter holidays.