GOLDEN, Colo. — A professional slackliner from Colorado who saved a man's life in 2017 is receiving a prestigious award for his heroism, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission announced Monday.
Mickey Wilson, of Golden, will receive the Carnegie Medal for saving a skier's life in 2017 on Lenawee Mountain at Arapahoe Basin. Wilson along with 16 other civilians will receive the award.
The Carnegie Medal is given to individuals in the U.S. and Canada who entered extreme danger while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.
On Jan. 4, 2017, a 30-year-old skier was dangling from a ski lift chair after his backpack got tangled in the chair. The chairlift then continued to carry the man, Richard Rattenbury.
The chairlift eventually stopped, which caused the backpack strap to wrap around Rattenbury's neck, leaving him unconscious. Wilson, who was 28 years old at the time, was on the ski lift behind Rattenburry and saw the incident. He quickly responded.
Wilson climbed up a lift tower and onto the cable, where he was able to get down to Rattenbury. He then tried to kick and break the plastic buckle that was caught in the chair.
A ski patrolman who arrived near the scene of the incident threw Wilson a knife. Wilson was able to cut the strap around Rattenbury's neck. Rattenbury fell 10 feet into the snow, where a rescue team was able to perform CPR on him.
Rattenbury was taken to the hospital with broken ribs but fully recovered within weeks.
Wilson's mother, Diana Wilson, told 9NEWS at the time that her son was skiing at A-Basin, where he works as a part-time ski instructor, when the accident happened.
In 2015, 9NEWS profiled Wilson for his slacklining talents. The Durango High School graduate was considered one of the best in the world at slacklining, a sport that involves athletes performing on a rope tied between two points.
The Carnegie Medal was also given to the following:
- Brady M. Pratt, McAllen, Texas
- Victor Villanueva*, New Braunfels, Texas
- Manjit Singh*, Fresno, California
- Casandra Joann Kendrick*, Seguin, Texas
- James Blouin, Sequim, Washington
- Kealii J. Akahane, Bellevue, Washington
- Ryan Ross, Port Angeles, Washington
- Mickey Wilson, Golden, Colorado
- Robert Cody Moore, Bellaire, Texas
- Jessica Lea Embry*, Wilmington, North Carolina
- Thomas Kenning*, St. Petersburg, Florida
- Rayna Michele Montgomery, Stuart, Virginia
- Aleem Ramji*, Toronto
- Joseph P. Cockerill, Lincoln, Nebraska
- John M. Murphy, Antioch, California
- Gerold Prather, Kalamazoo, Michigan
(*deceased)
The Carnegie Medal has been awarded to 10,371 individuals as of 2023.
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