January 5, 2022 |
Christmas Eve was not a silent night for members of the Saratoga-Encampment-Ryan Park Search and Rescue team. Heavy wet snow and strong winds turned holiday adventures for two different parties on both sides of the Snowy Range into life-or-death situations.
Shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve a party of three stranded snowmobilers contacted the Carbon County Sheriff’s to report they had become was stuck in heavy snow after departing from the Green Rock parking lot on the Albany County side. Using a satellite phone, they told dispatch no one was injured. They just couldn’t move. Deputy Patrick Patterson established a command post at the Highway 130 gate above Ryan Park. A rescue team from Saratoga used a snowcat and sleds to reach the lost snowmobilers, who had built a fire.
On their way to reach the snowcat, which had stopped short of the stranded party because of poor visibility, search and rescue team members came across a man who was walking with his dog along the highway. The man told the team his intent was to spend Christmas at the snow survey cabin.
When the rescue team was making their way back to the command post they decided to make welfare check on the hiker. Before reaching the cabin, they found the man lying in the snow. He had activated a flashing warning beacon, indicating he was in trouble. The team ferried the man and the dog to the cabin, but later decided to bring him back to the command post because of the lack of heat in the building.
More snowmobiles had arrived at the scene by that time, and the original mission resumed. One of the snowmobilers had walked a quarter mile to the snowcat. The other two rode their machines to the snowcat, which brought the three down to the command post.
The search and rescue team included Pat Waliser, Bub Barkhurst, Brody Barkhurst, Randy Sikes, Joe Gaudisi, James Willis and Tom Hunt.
Photos courtesy of Carbon County Search and Rescue.
