I've been stuck on a lift that lost power at night. Fortunately I was only up there for an hour or so but it was enough to scare me as a teenager. Being stuck all night would have been horrible. Glad she is survived.
I have thought so many times about just dropping out of the lift and wondering how the physics of the landing would go in different areas, and how much strain it would put on me, the effect of different amounts and densities of snow. I would be way more tempted and probably not thinking as well in this situation.
Better to be either really low so you can actually jump safely, or really high so you know for sure it's not a good idea. In the middle area is where you might overestimate your chances.