Twenty-three skiers and snowboarders were rescued after getting lost in Killington, Vermont on Jan. 20, 2024. Photo: Killington Police Department
Saturday was a busy day for search and rescue crews in Vermont’s backcountry. A total of 23 skiers and snowboarders were rescued in the backcountry in a span of about five hours.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., local police in Killington, Vermont say search and rescue received a call and set out to find less than 10 missing skiers and snowboarders. They traveled nearly five miles into the backcountry to look for the group but upon investigating the incident, they learned the group was actually as large as 21 people. The rescuers reportedly skied, hiked, and skinned the five miles to find the group and eventually brought them to safety, returning them all after a long afternoon in the backcountry.
Once the group was led out of the woods, the skiers and snowboarders were brought into the Killington Fire Department’s Heavy Rescue truck so they could warm up after spending the whole day in single-digit temperatures. Search and rescue didn’t get a chance to relax, however, because as soon as the group had been brought back to safety, another call came in. Two more skiers had been lost out in the backcountry. Six more search and rescue workers were sent back out to look for the pair whom they eventually brought back safely as well, wrapping up a full day of work that included locating and rescuing a total of 23 people when it was all said and done.
