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Boy Critical After Falling 60 Feet From Sugar Bowl Ski Lift

NORDEN (CBS13) - A 7-year-old boy is in critical condition after he fell from a chairlift at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort on Sunday, according to resort marketing manager John Monson.

The boy suffered severe head injuries when he fell approximately 60 feet onto rocks covered only by a thin layer of manmade snow.

He was taken off the hill by ski patrol and transported to Renown Medical Center in Reno where he underwent surgery to relieve pressure in his skull. He is listed in critical condition.

Several witnesses say they saw the incident, but due to the conflicting nature of the reports, the exact cause is still unclear.

Now Sugar Bowl is trying to determine exactly what happened, including whether the kids were following the rules on the lifts.

"Many eyewitnesses are reporting on what they saw and submitting statements and different vantage points," Sugar Bowl's John Monson said. "You know, were they (the witnesses) behind the chair lift? Were they up above the chair lift? Were they from the ground looking up? You're going to get different takes on it."

The 7-year-old had some experience on the slopes. This was his second year on the ski team and he was headed up the mountain for practice when he fell off the lift.

The boy was headed up the Mount Lincoln Express chair lift when he fell 60 feet onto a hardened patch of mostly man-made snow.

The ski resort says the boy was with two other children on the lift when he fell…

Sugar Bowl shut down the lift. But, after a state inspection it's back up and running. Sugar Bowl is not releasing the child's name because of the ongoing investigation.

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