Trapped in Cable Cars High in the French Alps

Terrible. All night stuck in that cabin. Not too much space and also not knowing how it will all end. And least but not last - no bathroom on board.

What a nightmare!
We rode one of those cable cars in May & I can't imagine being stuck for more than a few minutes, let alone the whole night!

I hope they get rescued sooner than later...

Jeez......that's a vacation they will never forget.

Thanks for posting this...I'd not heard it anywhere else.

As if there was a chance to get my wife to go on a cable car.....If she saw that article it would be all over.

I'd go back in a minute. Beautiful glide over the Alps.

I always have been said always to leave as early as possible for any mountain hike. If a problem develops - any - you want to have as many daylight hours in front of you as possible.

GOOD NEWS!

ALL the passengers were rescued! Thank Goodness! https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2016/09/08/europe/french-alps-rescue/index.html?client=safari

What an interesting story they all have to tell!

"I always have been said always to leave as early as possible for any mountain hike. If a problem develops - any - you want to have as many daylight hours in front of you as possible." ...and with an empty bladder.

"I always have been said always to leave as early as possible for any mountain hike. If a problem develops - any - you want to have as many daylight hours in front of you as possible." ...and with an empty bladder.

Yes, good idea, however... One can only hold it for so long... Some (33) of the passengers were stuck for over 12 hours!

And I am sure that some of them could not hold it for 12 hours. Probably majority. They have to invent some way how to relieve. I would also like to know how the helicopters were evacuating them from the gondolas. One wrong step and you are history.

bruce: daylight, an empty bladder, and a pocket full of almonds

,...and a pocket full of chocolate covered almonds. If trapped in a cable car and there's a breeze....I guess if the need arises, it's urinating in the wind.

When I took the gondola up to the top of Mont Blanc I was still debating about crossing to Italy. It sounded incredible, but also a bit terrifying. When I got to the top the decision was made for me. The weather was too windy to allow the cable cars to cross to Italy. I have to say that I was a bit relieved. Now that Ive seen this article, still relieved. :) But I did do the balcony hike from the middle stop of the Gondola over the railway. It was fantastic!

IIja,

I would also like to know how the helicopters were evacuating them from the gondolas.

You can read about it HERE

Helicopters had to fly over the cable, which was risky in itself, then lower rescuers on to an area "not larger than a table," Col. Frederic Labrunye, commander of the provincial gendarmerie, told the AP. The crews then had to strap themselves to passengers and rescue them one by one — something Labrunye described as "air surgery."

Thank you Priscilla. It must have been a thriller for those poor people or better said horror. I wonder how many of them will go by a cable car again. I just returned from Grand Tetons where in Teton village I went by a tram (huge cable car) to ten and half thousand feet summit. That was before that mishap happened in the Alps. Had it been after I would probably think twice about taking that ride.

IIja,

It must have been a thriller for those poor people or better said horror. I wonder how many of them will go by a cable car again.

My daughter & I went up to the Aiguille du Midi in May, & I started developing a headache after 30-40 minutes of being at such a high altitude.

I think it would have been absolutely terrifying to be trapped in a gondola, especially at such high altitude.... & to spend the whole night, horrible...
I wonder how many of those people developed altitude sickness...

If this had happened to me, I'd probably skip going on a cable car for a LONG, LONG time!

I can very much relate to this situation, as I rode those Cable Cars last September, and can't imagine being stuck up there all night, being hoisted out by helicopter or lowered to the glacier (which is a long way down). I've had some rescue training so probably could have managed, but it wouldn't have been my favourite holiday activity.

The reference to lowering rescue crews to an area the size of a table may have referred to a hatch in the top of the gondola (I vaguely recall there was a hatch).

Being lowered to the glacier would be very risky, especially at night as there are numerous deep fissures, which the unwary could easily fall into. Wandering about in the dark would not be a good idea! My cabin mate on the trip over was an avid skier, and she told me that even experienced skiers aren't allowed on the glacier without an expert guide.

"I guess if the need arises, it's urinating in the wind."

I'm not sure that would be possible, as the safety mechanism has the doors locked shut. There's probably an emergency release, but I wouldn't want to be stuck in that small telecabine overnight with the doors open. They hold four people so some people may have been alone in the car and some may have been full. It's not possible to fully stand up, so not a good place for the claustrophobic!

As Priscilla mentioned, altitude sickness is another concern which would get worse the longer one stays at that altitude. I also experienced a few issues with that on the return to Mt. Blanc from Pointe Helbronner.

I'm sure the engineers will get the problems sorted, so I wouldn't have any hesitation in riding those cars again,