Childhood friends Dan Walker (Kevin Zegers) and Joe Lynch (Shawn Ashmore) along with Dan's girlfriend Parker O'Neil (Emma Bell) spend a Sunday afternoon at a New England ski resort on Mount Holliston. They are eager to take one last run down the mountain before they go home; however, the ski resort decides to close early because a storm is moving in.
The friends convince the ski lift attendant to let them on one last time. Before the group gets all the way to the top, the attendant is called into the boss's office and is replaced by a co-worker. As he leaves, he tells the co-worker that there are only three skiers left. Another set of three skiers comes down the mountain. When he sees them, he shuts down the ski lift, stranding the three friends in their ski lift chair far above the ground.
They take it as a joke, but the ski resort's lights are then turned off, leaving the three friends in fear and shock. Parker knows the ski slopes have closed for the week. Dan feels he has no choice but to jump from the ski lift chair and get help, as they will not survive up there in the bitter cold until Friday.
After discussing the danger, Dan decides to jump off the lift. Upon hitting the ground, he suffers a compound fracture on both of his legs. Soon, his screams and the scent of blood attracts a pack of wolves. Joe, now fearing for Dan's safety, decides to try to get to the ground by traversing the suspension cable between the lifts and steel support tower. However, as wolves close in on Dan, he returns to the chair and holds Parker as Dan is brutally torn apart by the wolves.
In the morning, Parker awakes with her hand frozen on the bar, which she grabbed during her sleep. She is also suffering severe frostbite. Joe discusses his previous life experiences with her, before attempting to traverse the ski lift cable, and onto a support pole on the other side. By doing this, he also causes the chair Parker is sitting in to dangerously loosen from the cable. After scaring off a pair of wolves by using a ski pole, he slides down the mountain on Parker's snowboard, planning to return with help. The wolves give chase after him. Joe never returns and Parker spends the night alone on the loose cable.
The next day, Parker begins to climb out of the lift, but the screw comes loose and causes the lift to fall. Blocked by a cable, the lift is hanging a few meters above the ground. Parker jumps and then the lift lands on her ankle. Injured, she begins to slide and crawl down the mountain. She encounters the wolves feasting on Joe's mutilated corpse. Too occupied with Joe's corpse, they ignore her as she continues down, eventually crawling to a nearby road.
The first car that passes doesn't see her but soon a van appears and the driver, seeing her outstretched body lying in the snow along the side of the road, stops to assist her. The film ends with the driver saying they are going to a nearby hospital and Parker closes her eyes.
Who begins to climb out of the lift?
Parker