Stranded in Winter’s Icy Grip

Snowmobiles were, in 1969, somewhat of a novelty. Lloyd was curious about visiting out mountain property which, because of the deep snow, was inassessable by car from Labor Day until mid-June. So he rented a trailer and snowmobile and, on December 31, we headed to the mountains southwest of Fairplay, Colorado.

After parking the car just off highway 9, he unloaded the machine and offered me a ride. I don’t know what the temperature was, but the wind was howling and despite three layers of clothing, I soon had all the “fun” I wanted.

He wanted to use the snowmobile to go seven miles through the snow to get a view of our “cabin”. He wanted me to go with him, but I didn’t want to. So he decided to take our 12year old son, Lew, and leave our 17year old daughter, Terry, with me in the heated car.

Now, my womanly (motherly) preminition kicked in. I just felt they shouldn’t go. “What if you run out of gas?” He assured me that the tank was full.

“How long will you be gone?” He thought two hours. “And what if you aren’t back?”

“Then hitchhike into town and get help.”

I waited two hours and not a minute more. Terry and I hitched a ride with a young father and his son. At the Fairplay hotel, we asked about the sherrif’s office lt was next door. The secretary told us he was out on the highway because the wind and snow made it so bad it had to be closed. He had no radio in his car and could not be reached!

.

I rembered the name of the secretary of the Real Estate office and phoned. Her husband came and took us to a service station where they had recently purchased two snowmobiles. They decided to take a third snowmobile to accommodate the passengers and equipment,

Meanwhile, Lloyd and Lew were stranded due to a frozen gas line!

Lloyd rustled twigs and small branches for a fire. He used receipts and other paper scraps from his billfold to start the fire. Fortunately, he did have matches and a hatchet which he used to lop small tree branches off the tree. He was floundering about in waist deep snow and soon realized he could not keep it up much longer, let alone throughout the ice-blasting wind all night.

Then came the welcoming sound of their rescuers. Lew recalls win a laugh that they asked, “Are you the two people who are stranded?” as if the

woods were full of them!

Lloyd and Lew stumbled into the lobby of the hotel where Terry and I had been pacing the floor. Four people celebrated a very Happy New Year’s!

Our snow capped cabin

Photo:Lloyd Gundy

Lew has this photo in his living room!