A video has gone viral showing three men trapped on a stalled chairlift being pelted with snowballs by a cheering crowd of skiers in Switzerland. The more than one-minute snowball bombardment took place at the Laax Open snowboarding event in Laax on Thursday (Jan 21). Watch the video below.<h2>What really happend at Laax snowboarding event?</h2>During the build-up to the Halfpipe (night) Finals, the three friends became stuck at the ski resort when their chairlift malfunctioned, possibly due to cold conditions. The crowd took advantage of the situation, attacking the hapless trio with snowballs while others cheered them on.The video has been watched more than three million times.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/snow-chaos-grips-japan-as-heavy-snowfall-disrupts-travel-1768896373404/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/snow-chaos-grips-japan-as-heavy-snowfall-disrupts-travel-1768896373404/embed</a><h2>Many rolled with Laax Open's festive vibes</h2>Laax Open finals are usually very high-energy and party-like at night, featuring music, big crowds and some rowdiness. Snowball fights are not rare during the event.Some of this may also have to do with tradition too. At some ski resorts, people throw snowballs at the last chairs of the day when lifts are closing, either as end-of-day mischief or as punishment for those slowing the line. These acts are generally playful.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/russia-s-snow-apocalypse-takes-over-social-media-locals-jump-out-of-windows-dig-out-building-entrances-1768903342646">Russia’s ‘snow apocalypse’ takes over social media: Locals jump out of windows, dig out building entrances | WATCH</a><h2>Reactions to the video</h2>While many viewers took it as a prank in a sporty spirit, and even part of the ski resort traditions, others condemned it as immature and bullying, similar to mob behaviour. Some users called for better crowd control at such winter sports gatherings.The attack was spontaneous and unexpected.Commenting on the video, one online user wrote, “That’s the best accident rescue ever,” while another quipped, “that’s going to be a great memory for everyone involved one day.”“I respect the dude throwing snow back with limited resources,” said one user, acknowledging the person who tried to ‘return fire’ from the chairlift.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/snow-blankets-saudi-arabia-s-trojena-highlands-tabuk-region-as-temperatures-drop-to-4-c-1766046495418">Snow blankets Saudi Arabia's Trojena highlands, Tabuk region as temperatures drop to -4°C</a>Some posts suggested Laax had turned a mishap into delight.&nbsp;But not everyone liked it. One post said, “That’s not cool, hope they’re okay.”Others called it mob behaviour or borderline cruel, noting that the victims were just tourists trying to get a better view of the event. &nbsp;Watch the video here&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">🚠 Drei Freunde, die in einem defekten Sessellift festsaßen, wurden dort von Skifahrern lange Zeit mit einem regelrechten Schneeballregen bombardiert. ❄️😂 📍 Laax, Schweiz 🇨🇭 <a href="https://t.co/vg3zifBlJa">pic.twitter.com/vg3zifBlJa</a>&mdash; EU Report 🇩🇪 (@1980Aktuell) <a href="https://twitter.com/1980Aktuell/status/2013933905020084446?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Three men stranded on a chairlift at a Swiss ski event were pelted with snowballs by a cheering crowd. Culture, prank or mob behaviour? Watch the viral video


A video has gone viral showing three men trapped on a stalled chairlift being pelted with snowballs by a cheering crowd of skiers in Switzerland. The more than one-minute snowball bombardment took place at the Laax Open snowboarding event in Laax on Thursday (Jan 21). Watch the video below. What really happend at Laax snowboarding event? During the build-up to the Halfpipe (night) Finals, the three friends became stuck at the ski resort when their chairlift malfunctioned, possibly due to cold conditions. The crowd took advantage of the situation, attacking the hapless trio with snowballs while others cheered them on. The video has been watched more than three million times. https://www.wionews.com/videos/snow-chaos-grips-japan-as-heavy-snowfall-disrupts-travel-1768896373404/embed Many rolled with Laax Open's festive vibes Laax Open finals are usually very high-energy and party-like at night, featuring music, big crowds and some rowdiness. Snowball fights are not rare during the event. Some of this may also have to do with tradition too. At some ski resorts, people throw snowballs at the last chairs of the day when lifts are closing, either as end-of-day mischief or as punishment for those slowing the line. These acts are generally playful. Also read: Russia’s ‘snow apocalypse’ takes over social media: Locals jump out of windows, dig out building entrances | WATCH Reactions to the video While many viewers took it as a prank in a sporty spirit, and even part of the ski resort traditions, others condemned it as immature and bullying, similar to mob behaviour. Some users called for better crowd control at such winter sports gatherings. The attack was spontaneous and unexpected. Commenting on the video, one online user wrote, “That’s the best accident rescue ever,” while another quipped, “that’s going to be a great memory for everyone involved one day.” “I respect the dude throwing snow back with limited resources,” said one user, acknowledging the person who tried to ‘return fire’ from the chairlift. Also read: Snow blankets Saudi Arabia's Trojena highlands, Tabuk region as temperatures drop to -4°C Some posts suggested Laax had turned a mishap into delight. But not everyone liked it. One post said, “That’s not cool, hope they’re okay.” Others called it mob behaviour or borderline cruel, noting that the victims were just tourists trying to get a better view of the event. Watch the video here

Three men stranded on a chairlift at a Swiss ski event were pelted with snowballs by a cheering crowd. Culture, prank or mob behaviour? Watch the viral video

With friends like these, who needs enemies? Three men stuck on a chairlift pummeled in snowball attack at Swiss snowboarding event | Watch

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With friends like these, who needs enemies? Three men stuck on a chairlift pummeled in snowball attack at Swiss snowboarding event | Watch