As of: January 31, 2024, 4:20 p.m
By: Karolin Schaefer
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In freezing temperatures, a ski gondola suddenly stops.
A holidaymaker is stuck for several hours.
Her friends inform the police.
South Lake Tahoe – There are always problems with gondolas and lifts in ski areas.
Most recently, a gondola crashed in Tyrol.
Several people were injured.
The hours that a snowboarder was stuck in a gondola on Friday night (January 26th) must also have been frightening.
Snowboarder stuck in gondola: “I screamed desperately until I lost my voice”
The woman was on a winter vacation with her friends at the Heavenly Mountain Resort in the US state of California.
Because she was too tired, the snowboarder didn't want to go down the mountain on Thursday (January 25th), but instead wanted to be transported down to the valley in the gondola around 5 p.m.
However, she didn't get there as planned.
After just a few minutes, the ski lift suddenly stopped, reported the broadcaster
KCRA
.
The holidaymaker was apparently forgotten because she was still sitting in the gondola.
“I screamed desperately until I lost my voice,” she told the station.
Holidaymaker is forgotten in the ski gondola in sub-zero temperatures
But her cries for help were not heard and without a cell phone she was left at the mercy of the predicament.
The icy temperatures must have been difficult for the young woman at dizzying heights.
The temperatures around the freshwater lake Lake Tahoe are currently falling well below freezing at night.
The picture shows a gondola in the Heavenly ski area with a view of the lake: the vacationer was stuck here for hours.
(Archive image) © Sundry Photography/imago
In the meantime, her friends did not remain idle.
When they noticed the snowboarder's disappearance, they reported the woman missing to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office.
But it wasn't until the ski lift started moving on Friday morning and the holidaymaker was able to get out that she was found around 8.30 a.m.
The woman was stuck for a total of around 15 hours.
“I don’t know how something like this could happen,” a spokeswoman for the fire department told the station.
“That must have been really terrible for her.” The vacationer was at least approachable.
She refused to be transported to the hospital for an examination.
“With the utmost seriousness”: Ski area operators announce investigation
The authorities are now investigating how the woman ended up stuck in the gondola.
“The safety and well-being of our guests is our top priority at Heavenly Mountain Resort.
We are investigating this situation with the utmost seriousness,” said the ski area operator.
Holidaymakers in Switzerland were also temporarily stuck in a ski lift.
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at her own discretion. All information has been carefully checked. Find out more about our AI principles here.