A 42-year-old male snowboarder who was overdue from a run on Burnt Mountain was rescued early Sunday by the Snowmass Ski Patrol, according to the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.
About 4:46 p.m. Saturday, a friend of the snowboarder called for help and said that the snowboarder had gone out of the Snowmass ski area at a wilderness access gate, according to a news release.
The snowboarder got trapped in deep snow in a steep ravine and was separated from a friend he was snowboarding with. He called a friend to tell them to call for help. His cell phone quit working soon after.
The Snowmass Ski Patrol sent out 12 people on snowmobiles and snowcats to find the snowboarder and his friend.
The patrol found the friend of the snowboarder who told them that he had been talking to his friend by phone until the signal died. The friend told them where he thought the snowboarder might be.
During the search, the patrollers triggered several small, but potentially lethal avalanches in ravines and steep areas during seven top to bottom searches of the area that they thought the man might be in.
But, the snowboarder was found shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday and was not injured.
The man was taken to Aspen Valley Hospital because he was dehydrated, cold and tired.
The ski patrol was assisted in the search by the Snowmass Village management staff and Police Department.
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WESTMINSTER
Paramedics conquer ice to deliver baby
Paramedics faced icy roads and extreme temperatures on the way to help a woman in labor late Saturday night, but they made it in time to help deliver the baby at the mother’s home.
Westminster firefighters received a call at 10:14 p.m. that a woman in the 10700 block of Moore Circle was in labor. They arrived six minutes later, and the baby was already on its way. There was no time to get to a hospital.
The paramedics set up for the birth in a bedroom. Initial delivery was tense because the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck, but the paramedics managed to untangle the child.
The baby was born at 10:28 p.m.
The child’s arrival was a surprise because the family’s obstetrician had originally set a Jan. 12 due date but later delayed the expected date by two weeks.
DENVER
Immigrant group plans push on D.C.
The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition has launched a statewide platform, a blueprint for comprehensive immigration reform. The organization is calling on Congress and President Bush to pass immigration reforms.
The coalition represents more than 80 organizations and 11 communities in the state, including Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Durango. The platform includes a guest-worker program with protections for workers, a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants living in the U.S., reunification of families, a reduction in the system’s backlogs, and protecting the rights of refugees and others.
This comes on the heels of Senate Democrats’ including immigration in their top priorities and the announcement that Colorado will be home to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The coalition sent letters to the congressional leadership and the Colorado delegation and will send four immigrants to Washington at the end of the month to lobby officials.
“Hard-working immigrant families shouldn’t have to live in fear. We hope that legislators will address the needs of all of us who contribute to our communities,” said Raquel Sanchez, a member of the group American Dream/Sueño Americano in Colorado Springs.
DURANGO
Eagles’ nest puts airport work on hold
Two golden eagles, with wingspans that can exceed 6 feet, have decided to nest in a pine tree near a runway of the Durango-La Plata County Airport.
That has brought a two-year, $18.6 million runway expansion plan to a halt, at least temporarily. The eagles are expected to move about June 1.
Meanwhile, the Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940 protects the birds.
“We can’t do anything until that eagle decides to up and move,” said Ron Dent, airport director of aviation.
The birds are holding up an extension of a taxiway, which now ends about 1,200 feet from a runway. It is needed both for safety and to improve airport efficiency.
The lack of a full taxiway means airplanes must taxi as far as a third of a mile on the runway, interrupting takeoffs and landings.
“We don’t like aircraft back- taxiing down the runway,” said Dent. “It’s a pretty safe procedure, but there’s always that potential.”
The airport has agreed to delay construction within a quarter-mile of the nest until the winged couple’s nesting period ends.
