(CNN) — A woman trapped in a gondola overnight Thursday at a ski resort in Lake Tahoe, California, told CNN affiliate KCRA that she screamed desperately until she lost her voice.
Monica Lasso, who planned the ski trip with her friends, never imagined she would spend a night hanging from a gondola, she told KCRA in an interview.
After becoming too tired to continue down the hill, Lasso said she approached a worker who guided her to the gondola. The gondola stopped around 5:00 p.m., two minutes after she boarded, leaving her stranded, she claimed.
“I didn’t have a phone, electricity or anything,” Lasso explained to KCRA.
Lasso’s friends reported her missing after being unable to contact her, they told the CNN affiliate. It wasn’t until crews realized it had been in overnight that the Heavenly Mountain Resort gondola began operating again Friday morning.
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office called South Lake Tahoe firefighters for help when they found her, fire and rescue spokeswoman Kim George told CNN. “She was assessed and refused transport – we always recommend transport with every patient.”
“The response was at the base of the gondola. That was really the extent of our involvement,” George added.
“The safety and well-being of our guests at Heavenly Mountain Resort is our highest priority. We will investigate this situation very seriously,” Heavenly Mountain Resort vice president and chief operating officer Tom Fortune told CNN in a statement.
CNN has reached out to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office for more information.
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