A Ridgway man was rescued by the Hinsdale County Search and Rescue team near the top of Engineer Pass on Oct. 23, after attempts by Ouray Mountain Rescue Team were thwarted by weather.
Barrie Bloom, 69, was first reported missing near Bear Creek Trail and Engineer Pass.
Ouray Mountain Rescue Team Capt. Ruth Stewart said Bloom texted his girlfriend around 8 a.m., saying he might need some help and asking her to contact the Sheriff’s Office. His message said not to contact the search and rescu...
A Ridgway man was rescued by the Hinsdale County Search and Rescue team near the top of Engineer Pass on Oct. 23, after attempts by Ouray Mountain Rescue Team were thwarted by weather.
Barrie Bloom, 69, was first reported missing near Bear Creek Trail and Engineer Pass.
Ouray Mountain Rescue Team Capt. Ruth Stewart said Bloom texted his girlfriend around 8 a.m., saying he might need some help and asking her to contact the Sheriff’s Office. His message said not to contact the search and rescue team yet, Stewart said.
Around 12:30 p.m., after attempts to communicate with Bloom were unsuccessful, the rescue team was asked to begin searching.
Mountain Rescue teams began hiking the Bear Creek Trail and driving up Engineer Pass toward his last known GPS location, Stewart said. Around 2:45 p.m., a new GPS location indicated he had moved uphill and away from the hikers.
Bloom triggered an SOS alert on his communication device from the top of Engineer Pass, Stewart said. ‘That gave us evidence that he was moving, and that hiking was no longer the best way to reach him,’ she said, so the hiking team was called back. The team that was driving up the pass was also forced to stop due to snow and ice. They waited for a while on the road, trying to determine if Bloom was still moving and coming back down that way, she said, but ‘we did want to get our folks back down off the mountain before dark,’ due to the conditions.
Bloom said he planned to hike to the top of Engineer and anticipated it would take about three hours, but actually took about five hours. When he got there, the winds were between 40 and 75 miles per hour, he said. He hit the SOS button on his Garmin inReach at around 2 p.m., he said.
“When I got up there, I sent off a message for help, and I saw a thing on the inReach that said help was being coordinated,” he said. “I remembered from previous training, the best thing to do once you send out for help is stay put and hunker down,” he said, so he remained at the top of the pass.
OMRT contacted the San Juan County Search and Rescue Team to see if they could approach from the southern side, Stewart said. But the team wasn’t able to assist, so OMRT sent a truck with their members to approach from Silverton through Animas Forks. They were stopped about 3 miles and 1,000 vertical feet from Bloom’s location, however, due to snow drifts and deteriorating weather. Hinsdale County was also contacted.
Hinsdale County Search and Rescue Director Keith Chambers was notified shortly before 5 p.m., and set out with a crew of six toward the eastern side of Engineer Pass.
“It was not an easy drive,” he said, but there was less snow than on the Ouray County side, making it more accessible.
“The higher we went, the deeper the snow became,” he said, with snow drifts approaching two feet, until the top, where they had to stop and hike over a major drift.
It was about 8 p.m. when they reached Bloom, who had made it up to the pass but had not crossed over onto the eastern side yet, Chambers said. The temperature at the top of the pass was about 9 degrees.
The crew helped him hike back to their two vehicles, which were “aggressively set up for backcountry travel” with wheel lockers to help with traction, Chambers said. The drive from Lake City to the pass was about 17 miles.
Stewart said the rescuers who had driven from Animas Forks were preparing to hike to Bloom’s location when they were notified Chambers’ team had reached him.
‘I’m glad that Hinsdale was able to get up there,’ she said, as the routes from Ouray County and San Juan County ‘have some pretty steep and gnarly sections,’ which made it more challenging for the rescue teams.
Bloom was in good condition “other than some hypothermia,” Chambers said, and Lake City residents gave him lodging and food for the night.
“I was very happy to see the headlights of their vehicle,” Bloom said. “I really appreciate the help that I did get.”
He said other than some issues with the tips of his fingers, he’s recovered from the experience.
Chambers urged hikers to carry communication and GPS devices.
If Bloom hadn’t had his device with him, “there would have been no way for him to communicate that he was needing aid or to have communicated his location, so he undoubtedly would still be out there,” Chambers said. “It is a vital improvement in technology that people that are going to travel in the backcountry should consider acquiring.”
Ouray Mountain Rescue Team reminded people to check the forecast, be prepared to be out overnight and to leave a copy of trip plans with a friend or family member. Bloom was prepared for staying overnight because he had been camping, the team said.