Stranded Snowmobiler Rescued After Spending Night in Canyon
This past Sunday at approximately 2:50 p.m., the West Yellowstone Police Department received a call from a local snowmobile rental company indicating that a snowmobiler was stuck in a deep, narrow canyon west of town.
A member of the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office was able to contact the stranded snowmobiler, a 20-year-old man from Minnesota. The deputy then requested that the man call 911 in order for authorities and rescue to get accurate coordinates on his location.
The man said that he had tried for several hours to escape area, but the slope was too much and began to slide when he attempted to climb it.
Rescuers from the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue in West Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, and the Forest Service responded to perform the rescue.
By 8:30 p.m., rescuers made it to within a half mile of the man's location, but were forced to turn back due to darkness, extremely difficult terrain and snow conditions.
Fortunately, the stranded snowmobiler had supplies to make a fire, along with food, water and cold weather gear. At that point the decision was made to send another team on Monday morning.
Monday at 9:55 a.m., rescuers again made contact with the man, who was in good health and uninjured.
Although the snow conditions made it extremely difficult for the rescuers to reach the stranded snowmobiler, the rescue team was successfully removed the stranded snowmobiler from the area and he was safely escorted back to West Yellowstone.
The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office contributed to this report.