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A woman went missing after a day of snowboarding at a ski resort in Lake Tahoe, according to her friends. She was eventually discovered stuck inside a ski lift gondola overnight as the temperature dropped below freezing.
Monica Laso chose to take the gondola down the mountain at Heavenly Ski Resort on Thursday as she was too exhausted for another snowboard run. In a Spanish interview with KCRA, she revealed this information.
At 5pm, Ms Laso got on the gondola, but shortly after it came to a halt, still hanging in the air. She called out for assistance, but her shouts went unheard.
“I shouted frantically until I was hoarse,” stated Ms Laso, mentioning that she didn’t have her phone and therefore couldn’t seek assistance.
For 15 hours, the woman continuously rubbed her hands and feet together to ward off the cold. The temperature dropped to 23 degrees overnight, as reported by the National Weather Service.
Ms. Laso’s friends informed the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office about her disappearance when they were unable to contact her. However, it was only the next day when the gondola returned to the bottom of the mountain that rescuers discovered she had spent the night there.
She expressed feeling a great deal of frustration.
Battalion Chief and spokesperson for South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, Kim George, informed The Associated Press that paramedics were dispatched to the resort at 8:30am on Friday when Ms. Laso was found in the gondola.
According to Ms. George, the person was alert and responsive and refused to be taken to the hospital.
She stated that in her 23 years working for the fire department, they have never encountered a situation like that before. She expressed interest in hearing the full story.
The Heavenly Mountain Resort is taking the situation of the trapped woman very seriously and is conducting a thorough investigation. This statement was released by the resort.
Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our guests is our utmost concern at Heavenly Mountain Resort, stated Tom Fortune, the resort’s VP and COO.
Source: independent.co.uk
