Snowboarder 'desperately' called for help while stuck in ski lift for 15 hours

28 January 2024 , 11:34

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Snowboarder Monica was stuck in -5C temperatures for 15 hours (Image: CBS)

A snowboarder trapped in a ski lift for 15 hours has described the brutally cold temperatures she had to endure.

Monica Laso's was a gondola ride-from-hell after it stopped just minutes into a trip down the side of the mountain. She had been too tired to snowboard her way down the side of the mountain, and instead opted for the lift. But Monica has since described the fear and desperate screams she made in the hopes someone would notice she was trapped hanging above the frozen landscape.

No such luck for Monica, who was left screaming at employees below who could not hear her as she endured a night of icey temperatures.

Trapped in a ski lift for 15 hours, Monica says she was left 'frustrated' by the incident (CBS)

Monica had described the initial moments of the freezing experience, saying: "I screamed desperately until I lost my voice." She spent much of the night rubbing her hands and feet in a bid to stay warm in the lift pod.

“I didn’t have a phone, a light or anything,” Ms Laso told KCRA in Spanish.

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Hopping on the lift at around 5pm on Thursday, it was not until the following morning at 8am the lift began moving and took Monica to safety. The Lake Tahoe resort is now investigating why the lift stopped and Tom Fortune the resort's boss, has since commented on the incident.

He said: "The safety and wellbeing of our guests is our top priority at Heavenly Mountain Resort."

A view of Heavenly gondola of Heavenly ski resort in South Lake Tahoe, California (Anadolu via Getty Images)

Her friends also reported her as missing, with the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office informed of her absence. She was not found until Friday morning and the gondola's started up again, with staff members soon realising Monica had spent the night in temperatures of -5C. She has since said the experience left her "frustrated", the New York Post reported.

Following her rescue from the lift, Monica was checked over and assessed by South Lake Tahoe Fire and Rescue before she was released. A previous report from Mirror US says Monica refused to go to the hospital. Kim George, a battalion chief and spokesperson for South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue said they had "never responded to anything like that" before.

Vail Resorts, which operates the Heavenly, said in a statement: "The safety and wellbeing of our guests is our top priority at Heavenly Mountain Resort. We are investigating this situation with the utmost seriousness."

Ewan Gleadow