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

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.

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.

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.

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