Abstract: At approximately 3:15 p.m. on June 10, 1997, Employee #1 and several coworkers were performing maintenance on a ski lift in Twin Bridges, CA. They were removing slack in a ski lift cable tensioned at 30,000 lb, that had been respliced to remove older cable from the previous ski season. The cable slacking come-alongs had been removed and the fully tensioned cable was slowly being released back up the tower when something slipped and the cable jumped between several inches and one foot, releasing the chain end of the hoisting line. It swung up and over the cable, striking Employee #1 across the top of the head. He received first aid at the scene for a scalp laceration before being transported to Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe, CA. At the hospital, Employee #1 was diagnosed with a fractured skull. He was then transferred by helicopter to Washoe Medical Center in Reno, NV. Employee #1 had been wearing a hard hat, but he removed it when it started to rain and had not replaced it when the rain stopped.