Morning Read: Record number of skiers lost, found

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reported yesterday on two men forced to spend the night in a snow cave on Dix Mountain.

When darkness and heavy snow arrived, they built a snow cave and spent the night. In the morning they skied down the drainage to the South Fork of the Boquet River.

The search for the men began early Sunday morning after they were reported missing at 12:30 a.m. by a friend who said the pair hadn’t returned from a skiing trip to the Dix Mountain slides.

Meanwhile, the New Market Press is reporting a record number of skiers going lost this year at ski resorts in Vermont.

On Jan. 31, at 1:32 p.m., the VSP Search and Rescue at Killington finally located Gustavo Oascar Iriarte, 45, of Lyndhurst, N.J.

Iriarter, one of eight skiers reported missing and later found within the past week, was found in Mendon near Brewers Corner. The skier, suffering from some exposure, was found on a snowmobile trail. He had been missing approximately 12 hours.

Iriarte reported that he had suffered from cold hands and toes. He was transported to Rutland Regional Medical Center for medical evaluation.

WCAX is reporting that a ninth skier had to be rescued at Pico Mountain.

Vermont State Police say 24-year-old Greg Zagar, of Clinton, N.Y., was skiing with a group of friends at 12:30 on Thursday afternoon when they went out of bounds off Upper Giant Killer and he got lost.

A friend notified ski patrol that Zagar was missing at 2 p.m.

I guess when there’s this much powder, people just can’t help themselves, right?  I skied into Avalanche Pass two days ago and conditions were as good as I’ve ever seen them.  But then…I had a back trail to follow home.

Tags: adirondacks, winter