Climbers Trapped on Colorado Peak After Snow Storm Walk to Safety - East Idaho News
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Climbers Trapped on Colorado Peak After Snow Storm Walk to Safety

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ht connie yang stranded climber kb 130913 16x9 992?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1379110206642helpconnieandsuz/Tumblr(NEW YORK) — Two Maine women who texted for help during a snow storm on a Colorado mountain managed to safely descend the peak on their own Friday after spending more than a day stranded.

A spokesperson for the Intermountain Region office of the National Park Service said Suzanne Turell and Connie Yang were safe and not injured. However, details about how the pair managed to descend Longs Peak, where they said they were trapped at 13,400 feet, were not immediately available.

The couple, from York, Maine, became trapped in a white out on Thursday while climbing — the latest in a cycle of extreme weather that has battered the state.

Suzanne Turell sent a string of text messages saying she and her girlfriend, Connie Yang, were stranded on Longs Peak in Colorado.

Turell sent a string of frantic text messages Thursday morning letting relatives know they were stuck in a snow storm and needed help. Yang’s sister, Winnie, said the text messages was the last time she heard from the couple.

“We need help. At top of longs peak. 13,400 feet. Whiteout snow storm call Emma backcountry office,” Turell wrote.

She continued, “No injuries. Iced over risk of hypothermia. On South ridge.”

Turell said they were in a yellow tent off trail, southeast of the peak, and had no battery left in their phones.

Then came the final text message, received at 9:12 a.m. on Thursday.

“Can’t move because of ice Storm, don’t know how long it will last,” Turell wrote. “Been here for 1 day trying to wait it out.”

The couple, who both work at NEMO Equipment, a New Hampshire-based camping and outdoor gear manufacturer, are experienced backcountry climbers, Winnie Yang told ABC News, but she knows they wouldn’t have called for help unless they needed it.

Heavy precipitation in Colorado has caused rivers and creeks to spill over, sending cascading floodwaters into communities. At least three deaths have been blamed on flooding, and thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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