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The story of what happens when you make a wrong turn...

dmc

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From a friends website : http://followthesnow.net

The story of what happens when you make a wrong turn... This guys a retired NYPD who takes his motorhome out west each winter...
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Friday March 11, 2005 - Happy Birthday, Momma

"Spent the night near Red Cliff in a snow cave in the hills. Set out running but I’ll take my time..."

The Story of the Lost Boys

The sun was going down fast and the coyotes were starting to howl. Tommy "Pine cone" Pair and Kevin "Grizzly Adams" Griffith were working feverishly, carrying out the commands of "Mountain Man" Mike Gibbons. The were laying pine boughs across the bottom of the improvised snow cave that they had created in the well of an aging pine tree. The branches of the tree were long and almost touching the snow, they encircled the trunk and the bell creating an almost natural cave for these New York City Mountain Men to crawl into for the night. As a coyote circled the camp Gibbons grabbed for Pine cone’s ski pole. He thought that dinner had arrived. The coyote thought better of it and fled. But the boys could hear him and his compadres all night long. And it was a long and cold night.

Stuck up in the mountains behind Blue Sky Basin in Vail, Colorado, the Mountain Men were hunkered down for a long frigid night where the temperatures reached about 12 degrees. Little did they know, they were about two miles outside and above the small town of Red Cliff, a few miles from Minturn. But they had made a very sensible decision to stop hiking and to build some shelter before the sun went down. It may have saved their lives.

The adventure had begun hours before, at about 1:30 PM when they were skiing on the Blue Sky Basin. Most people call it Champagne Glades but a lot of skiers from NYC know it as "Lenny’s Trees." Just the week before Lenny had taken a group of NYC cops through the trees, more than a few times, and to paraphrase Willie Sutton, the reason why they go there is because "that’s where the snow is." Days after a small dump there is still fresh powder in them thar trees!

On today’s excursion it was a group of NYC Firemen following Lenny who had been contacted by the Ski Monster, acting as a liaison. Why should the cops be the only ones getting the good powder? With that in mind the crew of eight set off along the rope lines of the Champagne Glades, plunging into the woods and skiers left. "The trees are tight as you go left and make sure you finish up right," were Lenny’s parting shots as he skied away at the only speed he knows; dangerous.

Off the boys went, soon spontaneously breaking into two groups. One group followed the Monster, who by now was pretty comfortable in the tight trees near Earl’s Bowl. That group was comprised of Artie Fitzpatrick, Jim Cali and Crazy Joe McKenna, former college rugby teammates from their Cortlandt College days. These four were hooting and hollering through the trees and the powder with some videos to prove it.

The other group was trying to follow Lenny, an almost impossible task. He bobs and weaves under the branches, over the logs and down the steeps at breakneck speed. Soon it was Mike Gibbons leading a path that headed left with Uncle Griff and Pinecone Pair, on his Jerry Launchers, following in hot pursuit. They were finding even better powder but there was a good reason. They had ventured beyond the limits of mortal men and were plunging through some uncharted territory. Soon they were out in pristine powder field with no tracks. " Something’s wrong here," Pinecone remarked to his seniors. They agreed but dove in anyway for a few turns and then headed right. But it was too late. They were over the ridge and outside the ski area boundaries, but they didn’t know it. They also were unaware of how hard it would be to get back.

The three hardy men started traversing to the right in an attempt to get back to a lift, any lift. But they continuously encountered ridge after ridge. Soon it was nearing 4:30 and things were looking bleak. "Mountain Man" Gibbons took command and convinced them that they had a better chance of survival by camping for the night in some sort of shelter. They began working as a team and built a nice, efficient snow cave in the well of the pine tree. When the sun went down they huddled together for warmth. None of them had dressed that morning for a night in the mountains, they hadn’t even dressed for a cold day of skiing. Gibbons was the least prepared for the cold, wearing only a fleece over a layer of shirts. Pair had a Patagonia shell and some layering and Uncle Griff was dressed in his ubiquitous yellow Helly Hanson Shell. Regardless, the clothing and the men held up, shivering but surviving the long cold night.

"Every once in a while Griff would adjust his position and his helmet would wack me in the forehead," Gibbons recalled. He continued, "The two of them were snoring at times, I couldn’t sleep if I wanted to, but I didn’t want to, I was waiting for the coyote to return with his friends. But they never did." Pair chimed in, "But we could hear them all night long. We had some laughs, but there was also some serious conversation and even a little contemplation. But we knew we’d make it out." In his usual deadpan, Griff remarked, " It was a long night, I’d rather have been back at the condo, but we made the best of it. We were waiting for the sunrise."

When the sun finally came up at 6AM the boys were up and at ‘em, getting blood back in their feet and trying to thaw out the numbness. Soon they hatched a plan, Pair would climb up to the peak above them and scout the area. Then they would hike to safety. Pair headed up, using his Jerry Launchers to assist in climbing the jagged rocks. But each peak was a "false summit," as Julie the Ski Patroller put it. It was Julie who organized and coordinated the rescue effort for the Vail Ski Patrol. It was an effort that began with a phone call the concerned condo mates; Cali, the McKenna Brothers and Artie Fitzpatrick.

When my cell phone rang at 1 AM Colorado Time I knew it couldn’t be good news. No, good news is not transmitted at those hours. And the fact that it was 3AM in NY added to my anxiety. When I listened to Jim Cali’s message that anxiety increased, " Brendan, I think we may have a potentially bad situation happening. Griff, Pair and Gibbons haven’t returned to the condo. We thought that they were out at the Red Lion, so we went and checked the town. Couldn’t find them. It’s not like Griff and Mike to be out this late. If it was just Pair I wouldn’t be concerned, but those other two would be home by now. "

I called him back and discussed the situation. The police wouldn’t deal with it until after the bars closed. This sort of thing happened a lot in Vail. As the two of us explored the possibilities a sick feeling began forming in the pit of my stomach, the possibilities were horrifying. Then I started thinking out loud about Mike’s fleece, Kevin’s shell and the likelihood that these guys could freeze to death out there. Or perhaps someone had gotten hurt and they wouldn’t leave him. The possibilities, unfortunately, were endless.

I tried to get some sleep so I could be of some use in case they needed our help in a search and rescue effort, but to no avail. Finally, after hoping the phone would ring again at 3AM to announce they had stayed out partying, I soon dealt with the stark reality that my friends were spending a frigid night in the mountains. I was nearly sick.

At 5AM we started getting ready to go to Vail and met with the condo mates at 7:30 AM. By 8:30 we were up the mountain meeting with Julie and Steve from Ski Patrol who had already initiated a search and rescue effort at the behest of Jim Cali and the boys. By 9AM the extraordinary Ski Patrollers of Vail had located the Mountain Men’s tracks and were close on the trail. All the while, Julie, Steve, Sunny and the rest of the Patrollers were as hospitable, professional and reassuring as anyone could be. At about 9:30 AM the radio crackled with the announcement that two of the Mountain Men had been rescued but the third had gone climbing. Cali immediately deduced that it was Pair. According to one of the Patrollers one of the two rescued guys had asked, "How much is this going to cost." Cali said that must be Gibbons. The Patrollers reported that the boys were in great shape and had skied down the meadow to the rescuers. They were soon skiing into Red Cliff and would get a car ride back to their condo. The search for the climbing Pine Cone continued.

An hour later, Tommy Pair was tracked down as he approached the ski area. He had hiked along a snowmobile trail after ascending what he estimated was a thousand foot climb. Bryce from Ski Patrol was a little more conservative in his calculation of about three hundred feet. But Pair had persevered and made his way almost out of the woods. Soon he was standing at the bottom of Blue Sky Basin waiting for a wide to the top.

When the boys walked into the Ski Patrol Headquarters at the top of Lift 4 Tommy "Pine cone" Pair was already regaling the Vail Ski Patrol, and anyone else who would listen, with stories from the Wilderness. He was his usual larger-than-life self, laughing and joking with his own self-deprecating humor. He credited Jerry with helping him through the ordeal, using the Launchers to help climb the "false summits" that Julie had talked about. A few minutes later, a photo session with the awesome Vail Ski Patrol and some plans for a rescue party at Vendettas, Pair was skiing back down to Lions Head on his K2 Jerry Launchers, smiling from ear to ear, enjoying life.

Not enough can be said about the Vail Ski Patrol and the Search and Rescue crew. They did their job professionally and expeditiously. They found those guys in about an hour, and delivered them home safely. It took a longer to track the elusive Pair, but they were reluctant to call out the dogs. Thanks to them a sleepless night for a lot of people ended happily. What could have been a tragedy for everyone, particularly the Lost Boys, was averted by great work. We are indebted to them forever, and hopefully a good party and some hearty laughs will start the installment plan of payback.
 

highpeaksdrifter

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On today’s excursion it was a group of NYC Firemen following Lenny who had been contacted by the Ski Monster, acting as a liaison. Why should the cops be the only ones getting the good powder? With that in mind the crew of eight set off along the rope lines of the Champagne Glades, plunging into the woods and skiers left. "The trees are tight as you go left and make sure you finish up right," were Lenny’s parting shots as he skied away at the only speed he knows; dangerous.

If I'm reading this correctly what this guy Lenny did is total Bull Chit. He agrees to lead a group of guys that is uncharted territory for them, tells them what they should do, then takes off. He’s got to know that not everyone in the group is going to have his skill level. It’s lucky no one got frostbite and lost some toes. You go in as a group, you make sure you come out as a group.
 

dmc

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highpeaksdrifter said:
On today’s excursion it was a group of NYC Firemen following Lenny who had been contacted by the Ski Monster, acting as a liaison. Why should the cops be the only ones getting the good powder? With that in mind the crew of eight set off along the rope lines of the Champagne Glades, plunging into the woods and skiers left. "The trees are tight as you go left and make sure you finish up right," were Lenny’s parting shots as he skied away at the only speed he knows; dangerous.

If I'm reading this correctly what this guy Lenny did is total Bull Chit. He agrees to lead a group of guys that is uncharted territory for them, tells them what they should do, then takes off. He’s got to know that not everyone in the group is going to have his skill level. It’s lucky no one got frostbite and lost some toes. You go in as a group, you make sure you come out as a group.

Lenny was wrong..
You gotta ski to a natural stopping place and wait..
 
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highpeaksdrifter said:
On today’s excursion it was a group of NYC Firemen following Lenny who had been contacted by the Ski Monster, acting as a liaison. Why should the cops be the only ones getting the good powder? With that in mind the crew of eight set off along the rope lines of the Champagne Glades, plunging into the woods and skiers left. "The trees are tight as you go left and make sure you finish up right," were Lenny’s parting shots as he skied away at the only speed he knows; dangerous.

If I'm reading this correctly what this guy Lenny did is total Bull Chit. He agrees to lead a group of guys that is uncharted territory for them, tells them what they should do, then takes off. He’s got to know that not everyone in the group is going to have his skill level. It’s lucky no one got frostbite and lost some toes. You go in as a group, you make sure you come out as a group.


City Folk...go figure :roll:
 

dmc

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Starter Jackets Rule! said:
highpeaksdrifter said:
On today’s excursion it was a group of NYC Firemen following Lenny who had been contacted by the Ski Monster, acting as a liaison. Why should the cops be the only ones getting the good powder? With that in mind the crew of eight set off along the rope lines of the Champagne Glades, plunging into the woods and skiers left. "The trees are tight as you go left and make sure you finish up right," were Lenny’s parting shots as he skied away at the only speed he knows; dangerous.

If I'm reading this correctly what this guy Lenny did is total Bull Chit. He agrees to lead a group of guys that is uncharted territory for them, tells them what they should do, then takes off. He’s got to know that not everyone in the group is going to have his skill level. It’s lucky no one got frostbite and lost some toes. You go in as a group, you make sure you come out as a group.


City Folk...go figure :roll:

NYPD and FDNY .... They are about as city folk as you can get.. :)

Good bunch of guys..
The guy who wrote the story plays keyboard in one of my bands...
 

bvibert

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Luckily the guys had the sense to seek shelter before night fall. I agree that the 'guide' should have been a little more responsible for his party.
 
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