Snowmobiler Stranded Alone In Wyoming’s Snowy Range Found Cold, But OK

Carbon County Search and Rescue made its first snowmobile rescue of the winter Monday night, Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken reports.

According to the sheriff’s office, Albany County emergency workers reported a snowmobiler had broken down about 10 miles from his truck, which was parked at Green Rock on the Albany County side of Medicine Bow Peak.

With the 10-mile radius that the snowmobiler was stranded in likely encompassing Carbon County, the East Division of the Carbon County Search and Rescue team was dispatched to Chains End on the Snowy Range.

Rider Found Safe

Five search and rescue workers on snowmobiles, two rescue personnel in a Hagglund all-terrain sled and a search helicopter were on the hunt for the snowmobiler. They first found his broken-down snowmobile near Silver Lake, Bakken said.

They soon found the snowmobilist huddled in a bathroom at the Lake Marie scenic turnout.

“Besides being cold, the subject was uninjured and did not require medical attention,” Bakken said. “Searchers were able to bring the stranded rider back to his truck.”

It’s Snowmobile Season

Bakken said Monday’s search and rescue was a sign that snowmobile season is on, and he urges riders to take proper precautions.

“For everyone snowmobiling this season, please remember to never ride alone,” he said.

Jeff Shanor, a backcountry guide with Sled Wyo in Sheridan, Wyoming, which offers snowmobile tours, said the rider who was rescued violated the first rule of snowmobiling.

“He broke the golden rule,” Shanor said. “Never ride alone.”

Other safety precautions riders should take include informing friends or family where they’re headed, carrying emergency supplies to help people survive two nights in the backcountry, packing tools for emergency repairs and bringing a satellite phone or other satellite communications device.

It’s crucial to take such precautions, Shanor said, because trying to walk your way out of the backcountry in the winter for help can be an exercise in futility.

“Don’t underestimate how remote we truly are,” he said. “People think they can walk in our deep snow. That’s certainly not the case.”

Justin George can be reached at justin@cowboystatedaily.com.