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Snowboarder describes 15-hour ordeal trapped in a gondola at ski resort in Lake Tahoe (www.pbs.org)

submitted 5 months ago by NataliePortland@lemmy.ca to c/news@lemmy.world

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[-] LodeMike@lemmy.today 38 points 5 months ago

Seems like some dumbass didn’t do their job.

[-] bobs_monkey@lemm.ee 37 points 5 months ago

Yup, the liftie didn't notify the bottom terminal of the download, and killed the chair after the last uphill mark. This right here is a massive failure in training and communication.

[-] b3an@lemmy.world 27 points 5 months ago

“The safety and wellbeing of our guests is our top priority at Heavenly Mountain Resort,” said Tom Fortune, the resort’s vice president and chief operating officer, in a statement.

🤔

[-] Transporter_Room_3@startrek.website 16 points 5 months ago

Certainly not on top of "do a once-around to make sure nobody got left"

[-] RamSwamson@lemmy.sdf.org 21 points 5 months ago

Huh. Anyone else see that movie Frozen? No, not that one.

[-] dditty@lemm.ee 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Interesting, I have never heard of it before

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Frozen%20(2010%20American%20film)

[-] RamSwamson@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

First thing I thought of when reading this. I refer to it as the original Frozen.

[-] MeekerThanBeaker@lemmy.world 20 points 5 months ago

Not blaming her, but why not bring your cell phone? So it wouldn't get damaged? It's one thing if there was no signal up there, but I'd have my phone with me due to situations like this.

[+] quindraco@lemm.ee -16 points 5 months ago

You'd bring your expensive device that is easily destroyed by water to engage in a water-reliant sport while surrounded by mountains likely to block the device's signal?

[-] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 28 points 5 months ago

As someone from San Bernardino that enjoys the mountains, yes. Signals can be dead and chrystal clear five feet from eachother. Also if youre worried about water damage just shove it into a plastic bag, use rubber bamds if its a shitty 711 bag. Hell ive gpt a coat from the 90s that has waterproofed pockets for a fucken walkman, even has rubber seels for headphone wires.

[-] antlion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 5 months ago

You wouldn’t bring your life saving water-resistant GPS and communication device into the mountains when sustained exposure to weather would kill you? Also most of Tahoe has pretty good cellular reception, especially high up on a gondola.

[-] june@lemmy.world 21 points 5 months ago

My phone literally has a satellite based SOS feature for situations where you’re stuck in the wilderness. It has the ability to kick up its transmitter power to search for any signal in order to dial 911. It’s a literal lifesaving device, and it’s practically water proof. Yes, it would go with me.

[-] UFO64@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago

People in this thread seem to think snowboarding is this nice gentle activity where you never slam down into some hard surface ever.

LOTS of people don't bring their phones when they hit the slopes. They know what they are in for, and aren't stupid enough to break their $800+ phone on the off chance the mountain fucks up an extremely basic process.

[-] jpreston2005@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago

dang, I've had the same Samsung Galaxy S10 5g for years. never had a cover on it, took it boarding several times, even used it to film myself hitting some jumps with a selfie stick. I'm not even that good either, I ate shit a few times. Once while it was out on the selfie stick, and a few more where it was in me pocket. Still not a scratch on her. battery still lasts for almost 3 days on a single charge

[-] negativeyoda@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago

Are they strapping it to their forehead?

I've eaten shit multiple times mountain biking and my phone, kept on my person has been fine

[-] UFO64@lemmy.world -2 points 5 months ago

With any degree of speed or intensity you basically turn into a rag doll. Snow surfaces can be plenty hard enough to destroy a smart phone at those speeds.

I know plenty of people who have learned very expensive lessons when they thought their phone was safe.

[-] negativeyoda@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago

If you're being pinballed down a mountain, I think a cracked screen is the least of your worries at that point.

Also, phone issuance exists for like $15 a month. Call me weird but I'll live "dangerously" with my phone for the reason that getting stranded like this would be awful

[-] UFO64@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

You would be amazed how much punishment the human body can take without injury.

Insurance plans don’t hurt, but even then? This isn’t a situation I expect to get caught in. The mountain tucked up big time.

[-] Whirling_Ashandarei@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

This is a super weird hill to die on imo. Obviously, Heavenly is at fault here, but choosing to rely solely on others by not bringing your cell is also a decision that she made that worked out poorly.

Sure, you can break your phone falling, but I'd much rather risk a broken phone than being stuck somewhere without it, or getting lost off piste or something and only having my voice to call for help.

You claim "LOTS" of people don't bring theirs, but I'd guess that's still a tiny minority of people on the mountain overall. I tend to get over 20 days a year and go with a pretty sizeable crew, literally no one leaves their phone in the car because then you can't find anyone if you get separated, you can't listen to music, you can't take sweet pics/vids, you can't call ski patrol if you or someone with you gets hurt (obviously you can still go find them but calling is faster if you have service).

[-] UFO64@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

[-] GoodandPlenty@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago

If she’d been with Larry David she would have at least had some edible underwear for sustenance.

[-] ryan213@lemmy.ca 7 points 5 months ago

Lawsuit??

[-] wazoobonkerbrain@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

That's when you resolve a dispute in front of a judge

[-] ryan213@lemmy.ca 5 points 5 months ago

Thanks, Shirley!

[+] krashmo@lemmy.world -8 points 5 months ago

She didn’t have her cellphone, so she couldn’t call for help either.

Phones aren't just for playing music. It's certainly not her fault this happened but if she hadn't left her phone somewhere else this would have been over inside an hour.

[-] Radium@sh.itjust.works 17 points 5 months ago

You fall a lot snowboarding, it’s more about not breaking your phone than whether or not you want to listen to music or have a need for it. There is risk to taking it and risk to not taking it

[-] krashmo@lemmy.world -3 points 5 months ago

I'm well aware of the risks of winter sports. Getting stuck somewhere on the mountain is about as bad as they get. If you're alone your phone is pretty much the only tool you have to prevent that from happening if you get injured.

Learning from other people's mistakes is how you keep them from happening to you. That's what you're supposed to do, not make excuses for them. If you're more concerned about the possibility of breaking your phone than being able to call for help after reading this then you didn't learn the right lesson.

[-] UFO64@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

People have learned just how easy these devices are to break. That's why she didn't have hers on her, she learned.

[-] krashmo@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

I've been snowboarding with my phone in my pocket for 20 years and never had an issue. Make excuses all you want, the fact remains that this person could have fixed this problem in 30 seconds with their phone. If you'd still rather leave your phone somewhere else to protect it then that's your decision to make. Getting stuck on the mountain is your problem to deal with. Just don't bitch about it if it happens to you.

[-] UFO64@lemmy.world -1 points 5 months ago

I’ve been driving for 20 years and never once needed my seatbelt.

Sounds kinda dumb, doesn’t it?

[-] jpreston2005@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

lol what a dumb hill to die on, are you that bad at snowboarding you assume everyone else is too?

[-] UFO64@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Bring good doesn’t mean you don’t fall. These are orthogonal metrics.

[-] krashmo@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Put a case on your phone and store it in a pocket you're not likely to fall on. You're acting like protecting your device is rocket science and it just isn't. Plenty of people do it without issue. If you can't figure it out that's a you problem.

[-] UFO64@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Do what you wish stranger, I personally have learned from others.

[-] Pretzilla@lemmy.world -3 points 5 months ago

Nah, not like you are falling on rocks. I carry my phone like almost everyone does.

It doesn't excuse the shoddy lift patrolling, though.

[-] Opafi@feddit.de 13 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

It's ~~certainly~~ not her fault this happened ~~but if she hadn't left her phone somewhere else this would have been over inside an hour~~ .

[-] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 5 points 5 months ago

And if she hadn't gotten stuck in the gondola this never would have happened.

[-] krashmo@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I already said this shouldn't have happened but that's not exactly the point, is it? The point is that she had a device that was capable of solving this problem but she chose not to bring it. There may have been a good reason for that but we don't know.

If you don't take your phone you're assuming that everyone involved will do their job correctly 100% of the time and that just isn't realistic, as evidenced by the fact that we are talking about this situation right now. Maybe getting stuck on a ski hill overnight is a risk you're willing to take in order to avoid potentially damaging your phone but I think that's a bad bet. I'll take my phone and call for help when needed. Getting stuck on a gondola is not the only situation in which having your phone with you could be useful.

[-] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 1 points 5 months ago

Somehow the whole world managed to keep spinning before cellphones existed. It may have helped in this situation, but that's simply using the benefit of hindsight to make 'the right call' long after the fact.

this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2024

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