B.C. newlyweds among hundreds stranded by gondola outage in Banff National Park

Two newlyweds from B.C.'s Okanagan were among the hundreds of people stuck on a mountaintop in Banff National Park overnight after a power outage left them without gondola access. 

Kelowna residents Jaclyn and Brennen McConnell, who had just tied the knot in nearby Canmore, were on Sulphur Mountain for a photo shoot when the gondola stopped working Monday evening.

"We'd planned this for pretty much a year," Jaclyn said. "We're going to take the gondola up, do some sunset photos, and go back down to the campsite and do some campfire photos."

But as the couple was headed back to the gondola, they learned it was inoperable due to a power outage in the Banff area.

As a result, the McConnells and as many as 300 others were stranded on the mountain overnight – but the couple kept in good spirits, thankful to have food and shelter in the visitor's centre.

"We didn't really know what was going on so we sat in the restaurant," Jaclyn said. "Then we realized we're not going anywhere."

The McConnells ended up sleeping in the restaurant, where they were provided with hot soup, candy and beverages.

Kelowna, B.C., residents Jaclyn and Brennen McConnell were among the Banff National Park visitors trapped on a mountain during a power outage.

"The staff was really amazing," Brennen said, noting that many appeared to be working well past their scheduled shift times. "Lots of hospitality. They obviously tried to make us as comfortable as possible."

No injuries have been reported, but there were people trapped inside gondola cars during the outage. Staff and rescuers focused their initial efforts on helping those people get to safety.

By early Tuesday morning, there were helicopters zipping back and forth carrying the remaining stranded visitors down the mountain – another silver lining for Jaclyn and Brennen, who said it was their first time riding in a helicopter.

"I was actually super excited," Jaclyn said.

"We're really fortunate we weren't trapped on the gondola, on the cable, because that's your fear of heights and claustrophobia all at once," she added.

Overall, the couple described the incident as a "minor inconvenience" – and one that makes for a memorable wedding story.

"100 per cent, my mom is going to love this story," Brennen said.

With files from CTV News Calgary's Michael Franklin