A mishap with a high-speed chairlift at Vail left a man dangling upside down from his seat with his pants falling off. The story, accompanied by series of photos, was posted on The Smoking Gun yesterday, triggering an avalanche of news coverage.

The New Year’s Day mishap left the man exposed for about 15 minutes as Vail staffers backed the chair down the mountain. The man was not injured. Pictures emanated from other skiers, notes 7News. Meanwhile, Westword injected a dose of irreverent legal opinion, writing that the man “can at least take comfort in the fact that now he can take Vail to court and, ahem, sue the pants off them.”