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Vail Mountain Rescue Group February, January missions digest

Motorists became stuck in the snow Feb. 21 after attempting to drive across the closed Cottonwood Pass from Gypsum. They were rescued by Vail Mountain Rescue Group.
Special to the Daily |

EAGLE COUNTY — In the months of January and February, Vail Mountain Rescue Group was called out 19 times. Below are summaries of the most significant of those missions.

• At 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 15, Vail Mountain Rescue Group assisted Vail Ski Patrol with evacuating a snowboarder who became lost in the Lime Creek drainage after leaving Blue Sky Basin. After Vail Ski Patrol located the subject, two Vail Mountain Rescue Group rescuers on snowmobiles transported the snowboarder to vehicles at Vail Pass, then to Vail Village. All rescuers were out of the field by 6 p.m.

• At 4:15 p.m. on Jan. 18, after locating three of five skiers and snowboarders who had been reported missing after leaving Blue Sky Basin earlier that afternoon, Vail Ski Patrol called Vail Mountain Rescue Group to request assistance with locating the two subjects who had not been found; both subjects were unfamiliar with the area and did not have any survival gear. Vail Mountain Rescue Group fielded a dozen rescuers to search the Lime Creek and Two Elk drainages. At 11 p.m., a team of Vail Mountain Rescue Group snowmobilers on Lime Creek Road located one of the missing snowboarders, who was evacuated to Vail Pass. Two hours later, Vail Mountain Rescue Group rescuers on skis located the second missing snowboarder, who was evacuated to Vail Pass, then reunited with his family at the Vail Interfaith Chapel. All rescuers were out of the field by 2:30 a.m. on January 19.



• At 5:45 p.m. on Jan. 21, Vail Mountain Rescue Group dispatched a team of snowmobilers to Gypsum to rescue the occupants of a Jeep who had attempted to traverse Cottonwood Pass and had become snowbound on the closed winter road. After evacuating the subjects to the road gate, all rescuers were out of the field by 9:30 p.m.

• At 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 1, Vail Mountain Rescue Group dispatched a team of skiers to assist a pair of riders on modified snowmobiles who had become stranded in the backcountry off Red & White Mountain Road. Rescuers on snowmobiles located the subjects, who were suffering from minor frostbite, and evacuated them to the Red Sandstone trailhead. All rescuers were out of the field by 10:45 p.m.

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• At 5:45 p.m. on Feb. 3, Vail Mountain Rescue Group dispatched a team of four rescuers to Vail Pass to search for a pair of skiers who had become lost in the backcountry after leaving Jay’s Hut. The Vail Mountain Rescue Group rescuers located the lost skiers and escorted them back to Jay’s Hut. All rescuers were out of the field by 10:45 p.m.

• At 5:45 a.m. on Feb. 21, Vail Mountain Rescue Group dispatched two teams of rescuers to assist a carload of Denverites who had become stuck in the snow after attempting to drive across the closed Cottonwood Pass from Gypsum. Vail Mountain Rescue Group rescuers in four-wheel-drive vehicles located the motorists, and after winching their stuck vehicle from the snow, escorted the subjects to the road’s gate, where a deputy from the Eagle County Sheriff’s office was waiting. All rescuers were out of the field by 10 a.m.

• At 4:15 p.m. on Feb. 28, a team of Vail Mountain Rescue Group snowmobilers responded with medics from Eagle County Paramedic Services to assist and evacuate an injured snowmobiler in the Mount of the Holy Cross Wilderness outside of Minturn. After medics tended to the rider, who had injured her back while snowmobiling near Halfmoon Campground, Vail Mountain Rescue Group transported the patient to an ambulance waiting at the base of Tigiwon Road. All rescuers were out of the field by 8 p.m.

Vail Mountain Rescue Group is an all-volunteer organization based in Edwards that does not charge for the services it provides and does not receive any direct government funding to support its operations.

To learn how not to become a statistic while recreating this spring in the valley’s unforgiving backcountry, please visit http://www.vailmountainrescue.org/backcountry-tips.

To make a tax-deductible donation to the team, go to vailmountainrescue.org/donation.


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