In reply to Fredt:
Not us missing the cable car but some mates of ours:
I remember doing a long route on Sas Pordoi a few years back. Our mates, A big guy with green hair and a tiny Korean girl language student, dropped us off at our start and then drove up to the bar on the pass to do a much shorter route.
We comfortably made the cable car down and, seeing the car was still in the car park ,settled in for a few beers. And a few more beers. And a few more beers as it was getting dark. People in the bar finally decided calling out the mountain rescue (heaven only knows how we communicated - they had no English and we had no Italian - they certainly didn't seem to understand that they were looking for a green haired bloke and a pint sized Korean girl).
With mountain rescue mobilised, they started up the cable car again, with massive spot lights on the mountain side where their route and descent route went. Up to the plateau where half the team did a sweep of the plateau and then headed down the descent path whilst we went down in the cable car, desperately scanning the mountain for signs of life. Nothing.
When we got down, the car had gone ! somehow they had managed to get up the route and down the descent path without anyone noticing leaving us a bit pissed, stranded miles from the camp sight and mightily embarrassed.
Luckily a couple rounds of some lethal spirit with MR (which the MR and hotel refused any payment for) and a late night call to the campsite to rouse the only person in our team sober enough to drive meant everyone was ok to fight another day - albeit after a late start the next day. Our mates said the rescue was impressive to watch - they just hadn't realised it was them they were looking for.