Indeed, one of the most massive rescue efforts in Colorado history had been underway since the previous Saturday. Despite blinding snow, high winds and deadly ice, more than 80 workers had been searching for the lost band. State officials ordered snowmobiles and two helicopters, including the army Chinook that found the other three skiers later last Tuesday. The heroes’ welcome the missing skiers received was short-lived, however: some Aspenites questioned why the skiers had been out in such dangerous conditions in the first place and groused about the estimated five-figure cost of bringing them in.
If anything, the skiers were victims of their own expertise. There were seven at the outset, all Colorado residents: Torp; Brown; Brigitte Schluger, 50; Andrea Brett, 42; Richard Rost, 34; Rob Dubin, 39, and Dee Dubin, 47. Veterans of climbs up mountains like McKinley in Alaska and Manaslu in the Himalayas, Torp and his companions considered the weekend expedition almost routine. Though local papers reported they had ignored avalanche warnings, Rost says he called a Denver TV forecaster, who told him no major storms were brewing. Several of the skiers didn’t bother to bring waterproof gear and portable stoves.
The band set out under hazy skies and light snow from Ashcroft, a kickoff point for groups heading into Colorado’s back country. But five or so miles into the trip, says Torp, they could no longer see through blowing snow. They spent the night in the snow pit they dug at 11,800 feet. By morning, they were cold and wet; Schluger’s sleeping bag was a soaking, useless clump. They all agreed to abort the expedition and return to Ashcroft. “The snow had deepened, and we decided to retrace our steps,” says Torp. He and Brown went ahead to break trail for the others and look for avalanche conditions. After a sudden “whiteout” that cut visibility to zero, the group inadvertently splintered into three parts. Rost and Brett managed to reach Ashcroft, where they triggered the search for the other skiers. Dubin, along with his wife and Schluger, missed the right path by 100 yards and headed south. So did Torp and Brown, on their own.
Unable at first to make it over the mountains, the army Chinook finally zeroed in on the little cabin where the Dubins and Schluger had taken shelter. “We saw the [American] flag upside down … and a big HELP sign,” says copilot Michael Titanski. The two women were rushed to a Denver hospital, suffering from frostbite; doctors haven’t ruled out amputation of fingers or toes. After their ordeal, the survivors faced a media blitz-and questions about the wisdom of their actions. Torp, who has participated in rescue operations himself, is planning a fund-raiser to replenish the Pitkin County Search and Rescue fund. But he and the others say that they would sally out to the precipice again. For mountain dwellers like them, risk-taking is a fact of life-and part of the appeal.
FRIDAY: Seven cross-country ckiers leave Ashcroft for a weekend trip.
FRIDAY NIGHT: They can’t find hut and spend the night in a snow pit.
SATURDAY: Trying to get back to Ashcroft, they get separated into three groups in blinding snow. Two skiers make it back to Ashcroft while the other push south.
MONDAY NIGHT: after sleeping in the open for three nighs, one group of skiers makes it to a cabin.
TUESDAY: The other two skiers emerge at a trading psot five days after they started.
MAP: Colorado
