WEST YELLOWSTONE – A snowmobiler from Minnesota was rescued in Southwest Montana after becoming stuck in the snow.
West Yellowstone authorities were called shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and told of the lost and stuck snowmobiler.
Three men were snowmobiling in an extreme backcountry area and became separated. Two riders made it out to a safe location and contacted 911 to report their friend missing and presumed stuck, according to the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office.
They were able to provide an approximate GPS location for his last known location and also reported that their friend had no overnight survival gear or any type of light source.
The lost snowmobiler, a 29-year-old man from Minnesota, was last reported in the Red Canyon area, 16 miles northwest of the Town of West Yellowstone, a very steep and heavily wooded area.
Eight rescue personnel from Gallatin County Search and Rescue in West Yellowstone responded on snowmobiles to the GPS location provided.
Rescuers made verbal contact with the man approximately four hours after the initial call but because of the hazardous terrain and deep snow conditions, the rescue teams needed another hour to reach him.
The man was uninjured and rescue personnel were able to load him on one of their snowmobiles and ride him back out to safety. That ride back out took rescue personnel another two hours and gis snowmobile is still on the mountain.
Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin would like to remind snowmobilers to be careful when recreating off trail and to know your limitations.
