BILLINGS, Mont.—A 37-year-old man died after falling from a chairlift that was having a mechanical problem at a Montana ski area, according to local authorities and a spokesperson for Red Lodge Mountain.

The man was riding alone in a three-person chair that carries skiers up the mountain when he fell from an unspecified height, they said. The accident happened Monday just before noon at the ski area southeast of Billings in the Beartooth Mountains.

Jeffrey Zinne of Billings was taken to a Billings hospital where he was pronounced dead early Wednesday from injuries suffered in the fall, according to Carbon County Sheriff Josh McQuillan and Rich Hoffman with the Yellowstone County Coroner’s Office.

The lift, known as the Triple Chair, was stopped after the accident, Red Lodge Mountain spokesperson Troy Hawks said. More than 100 people who were on it at the time were evacuated by ski patrollers who used ropes to lower them to the ground.

Hawks said the lift had a mechanical problem at the time Zinne fell, but declined to comment further and said the circumstances were being investigated. Weather conditions and the victim’s actions also were being looked at, he said.

On the morning of the accident, some other chairlifts at Red Lodge Mountain were not operating because of high winds. Wind gusts of about 50 mph were recorded in the area shortly before and after the accident, according to the National Weather Service.

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Hawks said the Triple Chairlift, which is almost a mile long and was built in 1983, was operating within safety parameters. It will remain shut down until an engineer fully assesses it, he said.

Staff at the ski area inspect its chairlifts daily, Hawks said. A professional inspection is conducted annually as required by Red Lodge Mountain’s insurance carrier and the U.S. Forest Service, which leases land to the ski area, he said.

Zinne, who was snowboarding Monday prior to his accident, was married with a 2-year-old son and owned the Montana Air Cartage freight hauling company, according to a post on a GoFundMe fundraising site set up on his family’s behalf.

“He was more than just a boss for many people here. He was a friend, a mentor,” said Jessice Sande, a manager at Montana Air Cartage who recalled Zinne’s infectious laugh.

Fatal lift accidents at ski areas are relatively rare, according to the National Ski Areas Association. Between 1956 and 2024, 35 people died in accidents involving chairlifts and aerial ropeways. Sixteen of the deaths were linked to mechanical malfunctions, according to data collected by the group.

The latest death during that time period was in 2020, when a man died at Colorado’s Vail resort after his clothing got entangled in part of the chairlift, making him unable to breathe.

By Matthew Brown