Pro Slackliner Mickey Wilson receives Carnegie Medal for putting his life on the line
Early January 2017, Mickey Wilson met up with a couple of friends while skiing at his favorite mountain resort, Arapahoe Basin. The conditions were whiteout, but the group of friends was stoked to get powder runs in as they went up the Lenawee chairlift. That's when disaster struck.
"We saw our friend- hanging lifeless," Mickey Wilson said, remembering those chaotic moments 6 years ago. "Only he was underneath the chairlift."
Mickey's friend's backpack had gotten caught on the chairlift as he was trying to unload, cinched up to his neck with the chest strap, and swung him around by his neck. He was left dangling feet above the ground, too far for anyone to reach.
"I started to realize that we might see our friend die in front of our eyes," Wilson said.
They tried to form a human pyramid to try and reach him, but their friend in danger was just a little bit out of reach still. Wilson knew he had to act and act fast.
He raced to the chairlift pole and started climbing, ignoring the people telling him to stop because it was too dangerous. In ski boots, he climbed to the top of the tower and ripped his gloves off as he prepared to sit on top of the wire, dozens of feet in the air while his friend was limp, dangling from the chair.
"I grab the cable and it's freezing. It's super cold, It's a blizzard. I swing my leg over and I sit on the cable and I shimmy down," Wilson said, making a motion with his hands to show how he scooted along the wire.
He said he did a "Tarzan move" to swing from the rope and onto the chairlift, which he admits didn't go quite as planned.
"My coat got caught on the footrest on the back of the chair, so I was trying to get free myself to help him," Wilson added.
At this point, you might be wondering who this superman is who can just balance his way across a frozen chairlift cable and drop down onto a chair. It's partially because Wilson is a professional slackliner, and partially because he's the kind of person who doesn't hesitate to help if he can. It didn't stop him from considering all the ways his rescue attempt could go wrong though.
"It was like if the lift starts running for some random reason while I'm on it and I get sucked into some of the machinery... I lose a limb or I fall off land on a rock and die or get paralyzed," Wilson said. "Luckily with my slackline skills, I was like, yeah, this is what we do."
After trying to kick the backpack free from the chair, a rescue crew member down below tossed him a knife.
"It was like, the perfect throw, landed right in my hand," Wilson said.
After that, he was able to cut his friend free, and Arapahoe Basin rescue crews were able to resuscitate him. Wilson is adamant about making sure those patrollers get the credit they deserve.
"I didn't actually save his life, I freed him," Wilson said. "A-Basin Ski Patrol brought him back to life."
Through all of this, Wilson has said slacklining is the only reason he was able to get to his friend in time, and this inspirational story has helped grow the sport for other slackliners around the world.
"People will tell me their family doesn't quite understand why they're doing it, but that my story helped them explain part of it," Wilson said. "That's awesome."
Wilson added that moment he'll never forget also helped him take control of his own life and seek out what mattered to him. He's welcomed a baby son into the world with his wife and is still competing (and winning) at a global level slacklining, while also teaching a one-credit slacklining course at his alma mater, Colorado School of Mines.
Now, after six years, he's being recognized by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission for his heroics that January day, an award given to people who put others' safety above their own when the chips were down. He said it's an honor to be included.
