Duo from Peterson’s Outdoor Adventure rescues pair on Monarch Pass Published Dec. 30, 2008 By Margie Arnold 21st Force Support Squadron PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Luck had a hand in it. Bad luck, good luck - Both played a role in events that unfolded late afternoon on Monarch Pass, Dec. 16. That's when William Prichard and Dan Ives, both Outdoor Adventure programmers at Peterson AFB's Outdoor Recreation, were headed to Crested Butte to attend an avalanche course. Though the three-day course was scheduled to start Friday, the duo left early to get in some practice ice climbing at Lake City, a potential location for future weekend ice trips. It had been snowing on and off on their approach to Monarch Pass. They noticed an absence of other vehicles on the road and commented about the nasty road conditions. They would learn later that Monarch Pass had closed behind them. As they started down the back side of Monarch Pass, they saw a vehicle pulled to one side and a couple standing at the edge of a cliff, looking down at something. Prichard and Ives asked if something was wrong, did someone need help, and that's when they learned a vehicle had plunged over the edge. "What we saw was a 4-wheel drive Ford Explorer that had its sides bashed in and all the windows broken out. It had rolled about three or four times down a 135-foot embankment until it hit a small stand of trees. Debris was scattered fifteen to twenty yards in all directions. Amazingly, its two passengers were standing at the bottom of the cliff in knee-deep snow," said Prichard. The couple, recent graduates from Oklahoma Christian University, had survived the plunge off Monarch Pass with only minor cuts and scrapes. Both had been wearing their seatbelts. They were conscious, alert, and were able to accurately answer questions posed by Prichard and Ives. But the embankment was too steep and slick for the pair to scramble up and it had no shrubbery to grab onto to assist a climb up. "There was no way they could get up the hill without the assistance of technical climbing gear," said Prichard. Once the team from Outdoor Recreation determined that neither had sustained any severe injuries, Prichard, who leads rock climbing and ice climbing classes at Peterson, got his climbing gear out and rigged an ascension system which allowed him to pull the pair up, one at a time. After the pair was hauled to safety, Ives, who also teaches rock climbing, rappelled down the cliff to get their backpacks and retrieve other personal belongings while Prichard administered first aid. The couple, age 21 and 22, had slid off Monarch Pass about 45 minutes before Prichard and Ives arrived. "It only took us about 10 or 15 minutes to get them up the cliff, but it was bitterly cold that day. With nightfall closing in and with all the windows blown out of their vehicle, they likely would not have survived the night or at the very least would have suffered severe hypothermia, frostbite and dehydration. They were already dehydrated and very cold." said Prichard. "When we got them cleaned up it was already dark and extremely cold, we gave them water and a candy bar." Prichard and Ives took the couple to Sargent, Colo, where they called local EMS and State Patrol to provide further assistance. "They were lucky, no doubt about it. If we hadn't seen the people standing along the edge of the road, we wouldn't have known someone had gone over the edge and needed help. And without our stopping, with our equipment and climbing experience, they would have been exposed to the elements for a long time, potentially overnight."