Some skiers spent almost two hours stranded on the lift and skifield workers had to manually evacuate those trapped.
For one American woman it was the second time in as many weeks she had struck misadventure, after being trapped in the South Temple Hut, near Lake Ohau, for several nights due to high waters in nearby streams.
Ohau Snow Fields owner Mike Neilson said the favourable weather conditions meant the evacuation was straightforward, with no injuries or issues for those stuck on the lift.
The damage to the lift occurred about 2.35pm when a skier exited their chair, which "went up horizontally and damaged the ball-wheel".
"We think it was a person who was probably not an experienced snowboarder or lift rider and they got off awkwardly," he said.
It did not appear the damage was malicious; the user "just didn’t have enough experience".
The majority of the 75 people trapped were evacuated from the lift by about 3.15pm.
Workers managed to get the lift running again at a reduced speed as additional rescuers arrived and the final skiers were off the lift by 4.30pm.‘‘It was a well-run evacuation and everyone was safe,’’ he said.
An ambulance was on standby, but no-one required any treatment or assessment.
It was the first evacuation from the chairlift since it opened in 2004.Skier Lauren Wooster, who was also trapped in the South Temple Hut for several nights last month, was among the last to be evacuated.
Those stuck on the lift were in high spirits, she said.
"It was good fun," the US native said.
"I was with someone else and we were playing patty-cake and things like that — telling jokes."
Rescuer Matt McRae said the majority of those evacuated from lift were "quite excited" about the scenario.
A police spokeswoman said police were called to the skifield, but were not required during the evacuation.
Mr Neilson said he expected the skifield to open as normal today. Repairs to the chairlift were taking place last night.
