Investigation continues into chairlift death at Heavenly

California officials are examining a piece of rope that may have played a part in the death of a Glendora, Calif., man at a Heavenly chairlift Sept. 1.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health's Tramway Investigations department will examine a piece of the rope before completing its investigation, spokesman Dean Fryer said.

"This lab analysis will be the last major portion of what we need to do," Fryer said.

Mark Alan Dickson, 51, fell about 50 feet from the Tamarack Express chairlift on Sept. 1, according to reports from Heavenly and the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office. His newlywed wife, Rebecca Gonzaga, 47, suffered a leg injury from the incident.

An apparent malfunction of the Heavenly Flyer ZipRider caused a retrieval rope from the zip line to become entangled with the chairlift, El Dorado County Sheriff's Lt. Les Lovell told the Tribune in September.

The rope - used to bring the ZipRider's harnesses back to the top of the ride - apparently caught the chair's safety bar, pulled the bar open and caused the chair to swing, Lovell said. The swinging chair pitched Dickson onto the dirt and rocks below, Lovell said.

The couple, who were on their honeymoon, planned to make South Lake Tahoe their home, Lovell said.