Tommy Hendricks and Matthew Smith – Lost up a Mountain

(The Mount of the Holy Cross)

Tommy Hendricks (18) and Matthew Smith (17) decided to go for a Thanksgiving hike in November of 2006. The goal was to reach the peak of the highest mountain in Eagle County, the Mount of the Holy Cross standing at 4,270 feet.

The 2 were both keen hikers and had some experience in the region, which may have led to their over-confidence which almost doomed them. The initial climb went very well, with no accidents or setbacks on the way up, but during the last part of the climb the mountain started to develop a thick fog and the signs of a storm were setting in.

Thinking they could handle it they continued to climb, making the peak before realising exactly how much trouble they were in. The fog had now turned into a snowstorm and visibility had dropped to a few feet.

After it started to get dark they knew there was no chance they would make it back down the narrow gully they came up in, and to make matters worse they left most of their gear, including their sleeping bags at a spot on a lower part of the mountain.

The original plan was to leave their things behind while they quickly scaled the peak and got back again before dark, but at this point, they were near the top of the mountain with no kind of tent or protection from the wind, and the only way of making fire they had, which was a lighter, got waterlogged and wouldn’t spark.

Since they didn’t have a choice they began to walk down the mountain, making it only about 300 feet before coming to a large overhanging rock. They found some shelter from the wind in one of the cliffs and spent the night with their bare feet tucked under each other’s armpits in an attempt to stop frostbite.

The next day they tried to make their way down as soon as it got light, and the storm had almost stopped at this point, but it seems they went well off course during the night and were now completely lost. Their compasses didn’t work and they couldn’t get any reception on their phones, so they just tried to get as low down as possible, spending the next night under a large sheltered overhanging rock.

The next morning neither of the boys was capable of trekking through the thick snow, and it had now been a full day since either of them had anything to eat. With no food and no way to make fire, they began to think they wouldn’t make it. Fortunately, one of the few things they did right was tell someone where they were going and when they’d be back, and after not checking in a search and rescue team was dispatched.

A few hours after dawn the pair saw a helicopter pass by, though it didn’t signal that it had seen them, and flew off without returning. This crushed the boy’s spirits and caused them to break down and cry. They couldn’t go any further as the hunger and frostbite were too much to deal with, so they just sat where they were, hoping someone else would come looking for them.

A couple of hours later a search plane flew over and saw the pair sitting in the snow, a helicopter was dispatched and the 2 were hoisted up to safety. Both of them had 3rd-degree frostbite on their hands and feet, meaning it had gone through all layers of skin and started to freeze the softer underlying tissue.

Both teens made a full recovery and didn’t lose so much as a fingertip, with the pair still claiming they love to hike and are already planning future trips.