Liam Gratton had the trip of his life at Table Mountain in Canada over the weekend, CTV News reported.
But the 12-year-old snowboarder did not plan for this to happen on his cable car ride on the slopes of Saskatoon, the station said.
What happened?
Liam told CTV that, after a quick adjustment of the lift bar, he simply “slipped” off the chair. His older brother, Luke, noticed at the police station that a security bar was removed too early.
Image source: CTV News video screenshot
Either way, Liam was able to grab the end of the cable car before he fell, CTV reported – and he was forced to continue holding on during the trip up the slope.
Image source: CTV News video screenshot
Aaron Arcand and a friend saw the whole thing as they took the elevator behind Liam, the station said, “Right in front of us, all of a sudden, we saw the little boy kind of looking to the side, and I think he got it too close to the side and slipped. ”
Like others witnessing the scary moment, all they could do was watch and shout encouragement to Liam.
“We couldn’t do anything, we just had to sit,” Arcand told CTV. “I started telling that boy to ‘just hang on, don’t let go, just keep hanging man, just don’t let go.’ It was intense, a sense of shock. ”
Arcand also picked up his phone and recorded the ordeal, the station said.
Here is the full clip:
Child hanging on chairlift after slipping off chair at Saskatchewan ski resort
you Tube
Fortunately, Liam was able to stand firm to the top:
Image source: CTV News video screenshot
Image source: YouTube screenshot
Arcand added to CTV that once he got to the top too, he checked on Liam and praised him for his upper body strength.
So, how are we going to tell Mom?
Liam’s mother, Kaelah Gratton, told the station that her children informed her about Liam’s adventure when they returned home – but that she didn’t quite understand. Then she saw the clip that was already circulating quickly on social media, and then she understood it very well.
“I watched it, and I watched it, and I got more and more sick thinking about what would have happened if he had fallen,” she told CTV.
Image source: CTV News video screenshot
Table Mountain general manager Lawrence Blouin told the station that he is relieved that Liam resisted: “Thank God, because it could have been a very serious incident.”