Skier Throws Snowboarder Off 25 Foot High Lift For Saying "To get tits-deep pow shots you just need to be on your edges"

ASPEN - Skiers and snowboarders often don’t see eye to eye, but one skier with a serious chip on his shoulder took things to an entirely new level Sunday at Aspen Highlands.

The skier, a white man in his late 20s or early 30s, took offense to a seemingly innocuous comment by a snowboarder sitting next to him, and threw the man off the Loge Peak chairlift, said Seth Beckton of Aspen, the snowboarder who was pushed.

Beckton said he fell face-first 20 to 25 feet to the ground, but fortunately landed in a “large pocket of snow” and was not injured.

“I honestly thought I was dead,” Beckton said. “Because I didn’t know where we were (within the lift path). It’s not cool to think anyone would do that.”

The incident occurred at about 9:30 a.m., though Beckton, 28, did not report it until the end of the day. He said he was initially shaken by the incident and in a bit of shock, but since he wasn’t injured, he decided not to let it ruin his powder day.

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Hell yeah, glad to see the Ski vs. Snowboard rivalry is still alive and kicking. Haven’t been out on the mountain in so long that I don’t even know what the vibe is like anymore – figured it was just all super inclusive, everyone holding hands and cruising down the slopes singing kumbaya then sharing a cup of warm cocoa by the fire in the lodge. Oh no no no. Still a hatred between the two that runs as deep as the fresh pow.

What did this boarder do to enrage the skier so much he went straight for attempted murder? Just a classic little mountain beef.

Beckton said he and the skier barely spoke on the way up the mountain, though the man called attention to Beckton’s snowboard when they got on the lift, saying, “Oh, you’re a snowboarder, huh?”

It wasn’t until the top of the lift, at about 9:30 a.m., that the two men began chatting about the 5 to 6 inches of fresh powder on the ground, he said. Beckton said he made a comment about it being easier to get face shots of powder on skis as opposed to a snowboard.

Beckton quoted himself as saying, “To get tits-deep pow shots you just need to be on your edges.”

Whatever the comment, Beckton said the skier then turned to him and said, “Are you making fun of me?”

Beckton said he was “taken aback” by the question and wasn’t sure how to interpret it because the man was wearing a helmet and goggles and he couldn’t see his face.

“I thought it was kind of funny,” Beckton said. “I thought he might be joking. I wasn’t trying to offend anyone. I didn’t even think the comment was offensive.”

So, even though he actually hadn’t been making fun of the man, Beckton playfully answered his question and said, “Not really — but maybe.”

“If you think that’s funny,” the skier told him, “do you think this is funny?”

The skier then “grabbed me and pushed and pulled me off the chair,” Beckton said. A third man was riding the same chair, he said, though he didn’t know if the man was a friend of the skier’s or not.

The next thing he knew, Beckton was heading toward the ground in “an out-of-control fall” and somehow landed safely in the cushy powder.

Hilarious. Do I even know what getting tits-deep pow shots on your edges means? No I do not. What I do know is that if you say it to a skier you’ll be promptly thrown off your 25 foot high ski lift.

Snowboarder played it as cool as can be though.

Beckton said he hiked out of the deep snow where he’d fallen and stood out on the ski run waiting to confront the man, but never saw him again.

“Because I wasn’t hurt, I wasn’t super-outraged,” he said. “I didn’t want to let it ruin my day. I decided to continue on my way.”

“I think the guy was maybe on drugs,” Beckton said. “Maybe he was partying the night before and maybe he was tweaking out on something and he did that.”

Can’t be phased, even by 25 foot falls. Urchins’ motto brah: go big or go home.