A skier has lived most people's worst nightmare at Thredbo after plummeting to the ground when the chairlift they were on became dislodged.
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The skier was on the Gunbarrel Express Quad chairlift when strong winds dislodged the chair about 3pm on Monday, throwing the person to the ground.
SafeWork NSW confirmed the chairlift had been shut down pending an investigation by the safety watchdog.
The skier fell several metres, but only suffered minor bruising from the incident, according to a Thredbo spokeswoman.
She said other chairlifts were not affected due to the weather conditions.
"There was an isolated incident affecting a single chair on Gunbarrel chairlift at approximately 3pm [on Monday] caused by a freak gust of wind," the spokeswoman said.
"The guest involved in the incident sustained minor bruising only.
"No other guests or chairs were affected."
SafeWork NSW inspectors and independent engineers were assessing the lift, a SafeWork NSW spokeswoman said.
"The chairlift was subject to a non-disturbance order once passengers had safely disembarked," the spokeswoman said.
"The non-disturbance order will remain in place until investigations, which are ongoing, are complete."
Thredbo was asked whether investigations were under way into the incident and how the chairlift managed to become dislodged in the wind, but declined to comment.
The Gunbarrel chairlift was built in 1988 and travels at five metres per second to take people 1680 metres up the slopes, according to the ski resort's website.
On Tuesday, the Gunbarrel chairlift was placed on standby while all other lifts remained open.
Thredbo received winds of more than 110km/h on Monday, averaging around 80km/h.
The Bureau of Meteorology said strong winds were set to continue on Tuesday, with a blizzard expected in the morning.
A severe weather warning has been issued for the Snowy Mountains, with areas above 1900 metres expected to receive wind gusts of more than 120km/h.
The severe conditions are expected to continue until Wednesday.
Andrew Brown
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
