Bear cubs scale Colorado ski-lift tower as onlookers watch in awe
Footage from a Colorado ski resort shows the two young black bears ascending the gondola structure via its ladder.
Bear cubs love to climb and apparently their skills aren’t restricted to trees.
The accompanying footage shows two young black bears scaling the Wild Blue Gondola lift tower at Steamboat Ski Resort in Colorado.
“The bears are climbing the tower,” an employee deadpans through a radio speaker in the footage.
To which comes the reply: “You better be taking videos.”
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Onlookers are clearly entertained, while the bears appear comfortable scaling the massive structure… to a point.
The footage shows them stopping, dozens of yards above ground, before one cub begins the precarious task of descending the ladder, rung by rung.
“It’s OK, they’re using lobster claws,” the first employee jokes, referring to belaying ropes used by human climbers.
One onlooker wonders aloud why momma bear is allowing two of her cubs to put themselves in danger.
But black bear cubs begin to climb trees almost instinctively early in life. They probably climbed the tower out of a playful curiosity.
The Wild Blue Gondola takes resort visitors 3.16 miles from the base of the resort to the top of the mountain.
The footage was captured by Sharon Spiegel and shared by Steamboat Radio.