Woman Trapped On US Ski Gondola For 15 Hours Says She Lost Voice Screaming

A woman reported missing at a ski resort in California, US, on Thursday was trapped inside a ski lift gondola overnight in the cold. According to The Independent, Monica Laso was on a trip with her friends when she opted to ride the gondola alone down the mountain at Heavenly Ski Resort. She was tired and had asked a worker to show her the way to the gondola so she could descend the hill, however, two minutes after she boarded, the gondola stopped mid-way, leaving her stranded for about 15 hours. 

Ms Laso didn't have her phone, so she yelled for help but there was no response. "I screamed desperately until I lost my voice," Ms Laso said, as per the outlet. 

Ms Laso remained stuck on the gondola for 15 hours and was forced to spend the night in the cabin. She rubbed her hands and feet together overnight to fight off the cold. Notably, the overnight low temperature was 23 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. 

The NBC News reported that Ms Laso's friends had reported her missing to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office when they could not get ahold of her. However, it wasn't until the gondola came back down the mountain the following day that crews realised she had been there overnight. "I felt frustrated," she said. 

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Kim George, fire marshal at the South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue Department, said that deputies reached the woman in the morning and contacted her agency. Ms Laso was responsive and alert and declined to be transported to the hospital, she said. 

"She was assessed and refused transport - we always recommend transport with every patient. The response was to the base of the gondola. This was really the extent of our involvement," Ms Geroge said. 

Heavenly Mountain Resort, on the other hand, stated that they are investigating what happened. "The safety and wellbeing of our guests is our top priority at Heavenly Mountain resort," Tom Fortune, the vice president and chief operating officer of the resort, said. 

Mr Fortune also added that the resort wants to get to the bottom of the incident. "We are investigating this situation with the utmost seriousness," he said. 

Notably, the 2.4-mile gondola is normally scheduled to run from 9 am until 4 pm, according to the resort's website and the website of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority. It wasn't clear why it would be running just before 9 am or 5 pm.