Aspen help needed ASAP!

[Snooperstyle]

Attention to anybody near Aspen. Our friend Jeff Walker has been missing for days after skiing at Aspen Hoghlands. He has lived in Aspen for years and is very experienced skier. There is a ski patrol search under way right now and if you know any body who can ski at Aspen Hoghlands today, have them report to top of the Loge Lift and ask ski patrol for further instructions. Or text me at 843-442-8834. If anything, say a prayer.

I know it's random and a long shot posting on here, but please spread the word. We will be there in twenty min.

Thanks, Dan

 

[Okki]

Sorry to hear about the missing friend Dan...

Nowhere near Aspen, but you all will be in my prayers. Hope everyone makes it home safe.

Okki

 

[DannyLlama]

Oh man that is terrible... I pray that they find him in good health.

Maybe the admins on here can replicate this thread in all the gens for more exposures. If no one replies to my post, PM a couple of them.

One of them helped me re-name a thread when my car was stolen.

 

[veloindy]

Any new updates?

Search for missing Aspen skier to resume today | SkyHiDailyNews.com

 

[Snooperstyle]

No good news. Volunteer search tomorrow. Ski patrol still on it too. We need all possible eyes on the mountain in every nook and cranny until he is found.

Also want to extend a huge thanks to Jeff Bay, a member on here who has arranged for many of us to stay at the hotel he manages here in Aspen.

Someone mentioned asking the moderators to post this in the other parts of the site. Maybe it would help I dunno. I dont know how to contact them. At this point we need a miracle.

Thanks.

 

[DannyLlama]

Someone mentioned asking the moderators to post this in the other parts of the site. Maybe it would help I dunno. I dont know how to contact them. At this point we need a miracle.

Thanks.

PM Sent to momo, we will see if it's doable.

 

[Snooperstyle]

Quick update for anybody interested...

No luck yet, but we are ever hopeful. Nobody thinks he would have intentionally gone out of bounds, as he was a very habitual and responsible skier who has lived in the Aspen area for a very long time. However, today, Mountain Rescue Aspen is searching for him using repelling techniques to comb the areas below the steep catwalks, especially under Olympic Bowl, despite the fact that ski patrol on the ground and helicopters have visually inspected those areas. Ski patrol is committed to search until he is found. Period. Mountain Rescue and the Aspen Police are less able to continue searching the areas beyond ski patrol jurisdiction, unless they find a significant clue to his whereabouts...which sucks because it is not safe for volunteers to help in those areas, and Mountain Rescue is really the only group of people that are properly trained to go there.

There is an ongoing volunteer effot to search in-bounds tree wells by probing them with a pole, and then marking the inspected tree as "checked" by tying a bright green ribbon onto one of its branches. If you are skiing at the Highlands, you can get these ribbons at the base of Expedition Lift, and also at the summit of the Highlands Bowl on the tower up there. All help is appreciated.

If you want to help, there is a fund set up to help raise money to keep the search efforts going:

Family of missing Aspen skier seeks financial help for search | AspenTimes.com

Thanks for reading.

 

[92-SR5]

Quick update for anybody interested...

No luck yet, but we are ever hopeful. Nobody thinks he would have intentionally gone out of bounds, as he was a very habitual and responsible skier who has lived in the Aspen area for a very long time. However, today, Mountain Rescue Aspen is searching for him using repelling techniques to comb the areas below the steep catwalks, especially under Olympic Bowl, despite the fact that ski patrol on the ground and helicopters have visually inspected those areas. Ski patrol is committed to search until he is found. Period. Mountain Rescue and the Aspen Police are less able to continue searching the areas beyond ski patrol jurisdiction, unless they find a significant clue to his whereabouts...which sucks because it is not safe for volunteers to help in those areas, and Mountain Rescue is really the only group of people that are properly trained to go there.

There is an ongoing volunteer effot to search in-bounds tree wells by probing them with a pole, and then marking the inspected tree as "checked" by tying a bright green ribbon onto one of its branches. If you are skiing at the Highlands, you can get these ribbons at the base of Expedition Lift, and also at the summit of the Highlands Bowl on the tower up there. All help is appreciated.

If you want to help, there is a fund set up to help raise money to keep the search efforts going:

Family of missing Aspen skier seeks financial help for search | AspenTimes.com

Thanks for reading.

WHAT?! Mountain rescue won't go out of the ski boundry? That's some BS right there, that would not fly here on Mt. Hood. In the last month I have been on searches outside the ski area boundaries of two different resorts and two different searches.
Sorry for my rant, I just think it's ridiculous that they are handling the situation like that, maybe I am just used to SAR operations in the PNW.

 

[Snooperstyle]

WHAT?! Mountain rescue won't go out of the ski boundry? That's some BS right there, that would not fly here on Mt. Hood. In the last month I have been on searches outside the ski area boundaries of two different resorts and two different searches.
Sorry for my rant, I just think it's ridiculous that they are handling the situation like that, maybe I am just used to SAR operations in the PNW.

I agree! Without saying too much, since this is a public forum, let me just say that friends and family have been begging them all week, and why they decided to go out again today after NOT going out for two days before that is beyond me. They say that they have extended resources, such as volunteers from other Mountain Rescue divisions, but they will not use them until they have a solid lead, which IMO is hogwash. I personally think that they should do a blanket search of the whole mountain outside of ski boundries, in the event that he hurt himself and the only way he could go was down, but not climb back up (for example). There are volunteers willing and able.

 

[Coveman]

Thoughts and prayers to him and his family. Please keep us posted!

 

[92-SR5]

I agree! Without saying too much, since this is a public forum, let me just say that friends and family have been begging them all week, and why they decided to go out again today after NOT going out for two days before that is beyond me. They say that they have extended resources, such as volunteers from other Mountain Rescue divisions, but they will not use them until they have a solid lead, which IMO is hogwash. I personally think that they should do a blanket search of the whole mountain outside of ski boundries, in the event that he hurt himself and the only way he could go was down, but not climb back up (for example). There are volunteers willing and able.

Exactly! Sounds to me like whoever is in charge of that operation is turning it into a fuster cluck. I don't get why you wouldn't use personnel that are properly trained and ready to be activated, especially after several days. :twitch: Usually you start doing a hasty search which is pretty much a quick search that covers a lot of ground and notorious places, then start doing more detailed searches from there.
Almost all us involved in SAR are strictly volunteer, who go out of our way and spend our personal money/gear just to help somebody they don't know and probably will never even meet. I just don't understand not using them, but then again I am not in the situation either.
Anyways we are hoping for a safe return. If I was in the area I'd definitely be up there.

 

[Snooperstyle]

Thanks. Yea, since I don't do this every day, I have to have a certain amount of trust that these guys are doing everything they can, especially since a lot of them know Jeff personally. I think it is easy to criticize when you are in my position, not knowing and understanding all the details of how they do things, etc. Anyways, we're headed back over to Aspen from Vail tomorrow morning to do what we can. They sent another chopper up this morning around 8:30am, and sadly, he found more nothingness. No other news as of now.

Still hopeful he is somehow alive out there!