© 2026 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Snowboarders Get 'Insane' Ride – Dangling From A Helicopter

When your gondola gets stuck in midair at a ski resort with one of the highest vertical drops on the continent, you'd be forgiven for having pangs of fear or even panic. For teenager Kody Lapointe and his dad, it was a chance to take an "insane ride" on a rope suspended from a helicopter — and to videotape the event.

After the ride was over, Lapointe posted the video — and thanked the local authorities for a "kickass ride." (We warn you, it seems to include a shouted profanity around the 1:40 mark.)

That ride was part of a rescue operation Sunday at the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in British Columbia, where a power outage froze the gondola lift. A video of the rescue posted by Lapointe shows an emergency worker landing in their gondola car, hooking father and son up to harnesses — and sending them out the door with a simple "goodbye."

Lapointe tells the CBC that he and his dad were "insanely excited" after they realized that they would be hitching a ride on a helicopter.

The CBC says that after the power outage hit, "approximately 75 people were taken to safety."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.
Recent cuts to federal funding are challenging our mission to serve central and upstate New York with trusted journalism, vital local coverage, and the diverse programming that informs and connects our communities. This is the moment to join our community of supporters and help keep journalists on the ground, asking hard questions that matter to our region.

Stand with public media and make your gift today—not just for yourself, but for all who depend on WRVO as a trusted resource and civic cornerstone in central and upstate New York.