Heavenly Launches Probe After Guest Gets Stuck Overnight on Gondola

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UPDATE: SAM Magazine—South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Jan 31, 2024— Following an internal investigation, Heavenly COO Tom Fortune has taken responsibility for the circumstances that led to a female snowboarder being stranded overnight on the ski area’s gondola.

“I am responsible for all aspects of mountain operations, including the safety of our guests,” said Fortune in a statement. “We have rigorous protocols to ensure our gondola and chairlifts are fully unloaded each day. I have reviewed our investigation, and it is clear there was a breakdown in those protocols that day. I take full responsibility as well as ownership to ensure it is addressed so that it never happens again. I recognize the gravity of this guest’s experience and we all are grateful she was found safe and uninjured.”

SAM Magazine—South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Jan. 29, 2024—Lake Tahoe’s Heavenly Ski Resort is investigating how a female snowboarder apparently was trapped overnight on its gondola.

Monica Laso told reporters that she was directed by a Heavenly staff member to board the gondola around 4:58 p.m. on Feb. 25, after saying she was too tired to take another run down the mountain. Laso said the lift stopped running about two minutes after she boarded.

Laso said she didn’t have a phone, and her cries for help went unheard by passing employees. She ended up spending the night in the gondola; overnight temperatures in the area dropped to 23 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Resort workers only discovered her predicament when the lifts began running again the next morning, about 15 hours after she had boarded. Laso reported having a cold night, but declined to seek medical attention, according to first responders. She had been reported missing by friends the night before.

Tom Fortune, vice president and COO of Heavenly Mountain Resort and the Tahoe Region, told SAM in a statement that the incident is being investigated “with the utmost seriousness.”

“The safety and wellbeing of our guests is our top priority at Heavenly Mountain Resort,” he said.

According to the Heavenly website, the last scheduled uphill trip on the gondola departs the base area in South Lake Tahoe at 3:59 p.m. The lift does keep operating for some time afterwards, however.

Report by Bob Curley