Please be extra careful out there while riding.
The price of safety is a low cost alternative. I think I'm going to buy one of those "SPOT" units now and carry with me.
Prayers to the family and friends.
Steamboat Springs — A search and rescue operation that had several Northwest Colorado rescue crews scouring dangerous and avalanche-prone terrain on Buffalo Pass in Jackson County to find two missing snowmobilers ended Monday night with the rescue of one man and confirmation that his brother did not survive.
Rescuers have not released the identities of the two men, who reportedly were missing since Saturday, but friends and family members identified them Monday as auto mechanics in their 20s from Fort Collins who are avid snowmobilers, hunters and outdoorsmen.
Jackson County Search and Rescue — which worked with as many as six search teams, a helicopter and Routt County Search and Rescue to find the men — reported at 5:30 p.m. Monday that one of the brothers was found alive by his father in a snow cave. Jackson County Search and Rescue logistics team leader Missi White said that a helicopter spotted the father and his son walking but that it couldn’t land in the rugged terrain to pick them up. The survivor later was transported for medical evaluation after an extraction team helped the father and son out of the area.
Three hours after the first man was reported safe, rescuers reported that the other subject of the search was dead. Rescuers were unable to elaborate on how they were able to confirm the man’s death and directed further questions to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, which reported officials would field questions about the search and rescue operation this morning.
An extensive search
Friends and family of the two men called and emailed the Steamboat Pilot & Today to inquire about the progress of the search Monday. Julie Weiner, who called one of the missing men her “pseudo son,” said a community was anxiously awaiting the result of the search.
“I know there are a lot of people praying for them,” Weiner said midday Monday. She said friends and family of the brothers traveled to the search area to help rescuers.
Another friend who attended high school with one of the missing brothers said snowmobiling was a longtime passion of theirs and called it “their thing to do.”
The two brothers went missing Saturday and were thought to have been caught in an avalanche while on foot that night. A 14-member Routt County Search and Rescue team operating with a snowcat, snowshoes and skis worked with helicopters and other search and rescue teams from Jackson County to find the men. The search began at noon Sunday, but rescuers were forced to suspend the operation Sunday night as darkness fell over the search area. Rescuers were able to contact one of the brothers via cellphone several times Sunday afternoon, but the brother reported at 3 p.m. that his cellphone was running out of battery. Rescuers said the man reported he was “cold and wet” but was keeping warm in a snow cave.
Teams were able to trace one of the brothers’ cellphones using a GPS, and although one of the men confirmed he could see the Jackson County rescue helicopter at about 3 p.m. Sunday, the helicopter was unable to spot the brothers. The helicopter was grounded shortly after that because of high winds and low fuel.
Tough conditions
Routt County Search and Rescue team member Darrel Levingston said conditions in the primary search area were dangerous and avalanche prone Sunday. That continued to be the case Monday. Jim Dustin, editor of the Jackson County Star in Walden, reported that there was more than 4 feet of snow in parts of the search area and that rescue helicopters saw evidence of several avalanches during the rescue operation Monday.
Levingston said those conditions made it harder for rescue crews to locate the men.
“We and the Jackson County search crews saturated the primary search area, and it was extremely dangerous terrain,” Levingston said Sunday night as the last of the rescue crews were exiting the search area.
He said searchers who returned from the first day of the rescue operation reported wind gusts of up to 30 mph and a temperature of about 15 degrees. Buffalo Pass received significant snowfall Saturday and Sunday from a weekend storm.
The missing brothers were members of a larger party of snowmobilers from Fort Collins, two of which had called for help Saturday night at about 6 p.m. after they found themselves stuck near the Grizzly Creek campsite. Rescuers said they made contact with everyone in the party except for the two brothers but were told by the others in the party that the men reported they were safe and would be picked up that night. A search for the brothers was not launched until about noon Sunday, when one of the men called 911 to report they were caught in an avalanche Saturday night.
Levingston said rescuers located a snowmobile Sunday that is thought to belong to one of the brothers and suspected the men were attempting to walk back to the Grizzly Creek campsite on foot when they triggered the avalanche.
He added that snowmobile riders and backcountry users should use extra caution because of the avalanche danger in the area.
“They need to be wearing beacons and carry avalanche probes and shovels,” he said. “We want people to enjoy the backcountry. We don’t want to discourage people from using it, but we want them to be as safe as possible.”
The price of safety is a low cost alternative. I think I'm going to buy one of those "SPOT" units now and carry with me.
Prayers to the family and friends.
Steamboat Springs — A search and rescue operation that had several Northwest Colorado rescue crews scouring dangerous and avalanche-prone terrain on Buffalo Pass in Jackson County to find two missing snowmobilers ended Monday night with the rescue of one man and confirmation that his brother did not survive.
Rescuers have not released the identities of the two men, who reportedly were missing since Saturday, but friends and family members identified them Monday as auto mechanics in their 20s from Fort Collins who are avid snowmobilers, hunters and outdoorsmen.
Jackson County Search and Rescue — which worked with as many as six search teams, a helicopter and Routt County Search and Rescue to find the men — reported at 5:30 p.m. Monday that one of the brothers was found alive by his father in a snow cave. Jackson County Search and Rescue logistics team leader Missi White said that a helicopter spotted the father and his son walking but that it couldn’t land in the rugged terrain to pick them up. The survivor later was transported for medical evaluation after an extraction team helped the father and son out of the area.
Three hours after the first man was reported safe, rescuers reported that the other subject of the search was dead. Rescuers were unable to elaborate on how they were able to confirm the man’s death and directed further questions to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, which reported officials would field questions about the search and rescue operation this morning.
An extensive search
Friends and family of the two men called and emailed the Steamboat Pilot & Today to inquire about the progress of the search Monday. Julie Weiner, who called one of the missing men her “pseudo son,” said a community was anxiously awaiting the result of the search.
“I know there are a lot of people praying for them,” Weiner said midday Monday. She said friends and family of the brothers traveled to the search area to help rescuers.
Another friend who attended high school with one of the missing brothers said snowmobiling was a longtime passion of theirs and called it “their thing to do.”
The two brothers went missing Saturday and were thought to have been caught in an avalanche while on foot that night. A 14-member Routt County Search and Rescue team operating with a snowcat, snowshoes and skis worked with helicopters and other search and rescue teams from Jackson County to find the men. The search began at noon Sunday, but rescuers were forced to suspend the operation Sunday night as darkness fell over the search area. Rescuers were able to contact one of the brothers via cellphone several times Sunday afternoon, but the brother reported at 3 p.m. that his cellphone was running out of battery. Rescuers said the man reported he was “cold and wet” but was keeping warm in a snow cave.
Teams were able to trace one of the brothers’ cellphones using a GPS, and although one of the men confirmed he could see the Jackson County rescue helicopter at about 3 p.m. Sunday, the helicopter was unable to spot the brothers. The helicopter was grounded shortly after that because of high winds and low fuel.
Tough conditions
Routt County Search and Rescue team member Darrel Levingston said conditions in the primary search area were dangerous and avalanche prone Sunday. That continued to be the case Monday. Jim Dustin, editor of the Jackson County Star in Walden, reported that there was more than 4 feet of snow in parts of the search area and that rescue helicopters saw evidence of several avalanches during the rescue operation Monday.
Levingston said those conditions made it harder for rescue crews to locate the men.
“We and the Jackson County search crews saturated the primary search area, and it was extremely dangerous terrain,” Levingston said Sunday night as the last of the rescue crews were exiting the search area.
He said searchers who returned from the first day of the rescue operation reported wind gusts of up to 30 mph and a temperature of about 15 degrees. Buffalo Pass received significant snowfall Saturday and Sunday from a weekend storm.
The missing brothers were members of a larger party of snowmobilers from Fort Collins, two of which had called for help Saturday night at about 6 p.m. after they found themselves stuck near the Grizzly Creek campsite. Rescuers said they made contact with everyone in the party except for the two brothers but were told by the others in the party that the men reported they were safe and would be picked up that night. A search for the brothers was not launched until about noon Sunday, when one of the men called 911 to report they were caught in an avalanche Saturday night.
Levingston said rescuers located a snowmobile Sunday that is thought to belong to one of the brothers and suspected the men were attempting to walk back to the Grizzly Creek campsite on foot when they triggered the avalanche.
He added that snowmobile riders and backcountry users should use extra caution because of the avalanche danger in the area.
“They need to be wearing beacons and carry avalanche probes and shovels,” he said. “We want people to enjoy the backcountry. We don’t want to discourage people from using it, but we want them to be as safe as possible.”
