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4-Wheel Drives and Snow Cats Rescue Eight
March 1995
Besides the rescue on Weber Creek Friday the 10th of March 1995 brought a second, simultaneous rescue in water of a different kind: the frozen kind. Snow cats and units from the four-wheel drive team pooled their efforts to rescue a party of eight people from the vicinity of Iron Mountain Ski Resort. The victims included a four-month old infant.
The lost subjects' adventure started the previous day, Thursday, when they decided to take a pleasure trip into the high country via Iron Mountain Road (aka Mormon Emigrant Trail) in several sport utility vehicles. Although one friend failed to show up, the eight people finally decided to go without him.
Their plan was apparently to drive until they couldn't go any farther. Thursday evening, they indeed reached their goal. In fact, they couldn't go backwards or forwards at all. It was then that they realized that they were facing a long, cold night at high altitude.
Meanwhile, the ninth member of the party had started up the road hoping to catch his companions. However, it was too hazardous to attempt by himself, so he prudently turned around. It was a good thing - when his friends had not returned by Friday evening, it was he who called 911.
The Forest Service units first dispatched found that the snow was too deep for them, so they asked for snow cats and 4WD SAR units equipped for snow. A handful of 4WD units left the Sheriff's Office at dusk and headed up Iron Mountain Road. Two snow cats on trailers were not far behind. Then, when the 4WD units could go no farther, they bivouacked while the snow cats headed on into the wilderness.
By late Friday night the snow cats had found the eight stranded people. Due to garbled communications, the 4WD units learned only that the infant was being brought out immediately, and everyone feared that the baby had been injured. However, rescuers were later relieved to hear that everyone was fine.
The eight were not quite done with their adventure. In the middle of nowhere, the snow cat carrying them suddenly threw a track and would not move. Fortunately, the second cat was able to speed to the rescue, and took the twice-stranded group aboard.
They arrived at the 4WD staging area shortly thereafter. The 4WD units then transported them down the hill to the OES office in short order, where their friends were able to see them on the TV news.
This trip took a toll on other equipment, too. One 4WD vehicle became stuck overnight in deep snow when one of the front locking hubs broke. In total, the mechanical price for rescuing nine people in two incidents Friday evening was three disabled vehicles, a trend we all hope does not continue.
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