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Lost snowmobilers' story a Lifetime movie

A

Adrenaline Revolution

Well-known member
Nov 17, 2002
2,333
661
113
In the foothills of the Cascades
Found it, DVR set to record!
Thanks for the channel #. For some reason I didn't have that channel listed in my "Favorites" ( Lifetime, channel for women!!)
You folks that helped find them should feel a good sense of pride, You helped save their lives.
Were the two that are depicted in the film 4M members or just the guy who found them?
 
W
Nov 2, 2001
3,460
279
83
Boise, Id
Those two were living right. They lived against all odds. I clearly remember when they called off the search. That was a sad night.

Julio and extremeOne found them, they deserve the praise.

Wonder if they'll ever make a story about the other guy Julio saved?
 
HAHAHAAA!!! Its too steep and the snows to soft!! lol!!!!

That was hillarious. the dude off the side of the sled, holding the brake and gas at the same time.. hahaha!!

Im sure its a good story and im already watching, so ill finish,. but that was hillarious..
 
C

Clarke673

Somewhere between too dumb to quit and flat earth
Dec 2, 2007
3,138
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Gardiner Montana
The movie is for a good cause but its pritty lame... I did the something simular today on my rmk
 
M
Jul 5, 2001
662
18
18
Wyoming
Finshed watching

I sure that the real thing was a huge difference than what I just sat thru-
\The content was there with family relations- but walking I'm sure the snow was not that set.....but a lesson learned and I would like the real rescures chime in, and let all know what should have been done differently, and what took place now that we have an Idea of the issue.... but mostly a hollywood Idea that is well,, a re-inactment

Good heads up for going sledding in the a.m. with the family on the annual trail make sure the sleds run fine ride......

MD
 
R
Nov 27, 2007
1,241
92
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Newport, WA
Agreed, I like the idea that they took the time to make a movie about what happened, but during most of the movie I found myself asking WTF? I'm just glad the two of them made it out alive and healthy!
 
S

Spud

Well-known member
Mar 5, 2003
2,132
199
63
Lewistown,MT-USA
It is true that Julio and I were in the right place at the right time but I'd say that Jim and Susan did quite a few things right to make it as long as they did. With very little food they were still able to keep there focus on surviving all those days.

I agree with Perk... I hope they don't sugar coat it but I'm guessing that sense Hollywood got there hands on it, it will be slanted quite a bit. I would say that the people that were up there searching day and night didn't get near the recognition they should have.:)

I'll say it was \slanted\ quite a bit. They slanted yourself & Julio right out of there and gave Susan's brother and the boyfriend all the recognition for coming across them. :face-icon-small-con
 
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J
Oct 12, 2002
306
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18
Idaho, Meridian
I'm still hung up on the "pilots peak visitor center" I keep laughing.

I'm going to make a sign and hang it on the crapper up there in honor of the movie.

Things I remember at the time was, it snowed like crazy and we thought they were buried, All the lots were full we had to squeeze in the lot across from wup -um-up, there were sleds everywhere, There was a lot of storms through the week that prevented the heli from flying. I don't remember being told to stay off the mountain or you'll be arrested.

I think the acting could have been better, they should of logged in snowest we have plenty of drama queens that could have faked it a little better.
 
R
Sep 9, 2001
484
31
28
Boise, Idaho
Hang the sign!
The movie was ok. I was pissed at the part about people being to busy to go help search. After it was over my wife was asking about what I carried with me in my pack. I went to the trailer and got it so we (I) could check it out. I added a couple other items that my wife wanted me to put in (just to ease here mind).

Over.
 
D
Dec 7, 2007
10
2
3
If anyone recorded this movie and would not mind sending me a copy, please PM me. I would really appreciate it! I do not get the channel.

Thanks
 
W
Nov 2, 2001
3,460
279
83
Boise, Id
This was the original story:

CNN

This is a long one.

- LOST IN WILDERNESS, PAIR MAY HAVE SAVED THEIR MARRIAGE
Seattle Times
Wednesday, March 12, 2003

Lost in a wintry wilderness, pair may have saved marriage

By Rebecca Boone The Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho ‹ It would take a miracle to save her marriage, Suzanne
Shemwell confided to friends.

After 23 years together, she and Jim had drifted apart. Suzanne did not know
if the two could last another year, living together in uncomfortable
silence.

The miracle would come, twofold: In what was planned to be a three-hour
snowmobile trip, Suzanne and Jim got stranded, then lost, for five days on a
freezing mountaintop.

Though they had only a snack-size package of sausage and a candy bar, they
made it home against all odds. And the teamwork they relied on to survive
renewed the strength in their relationship.

Jim Shemwell, 45, had invited a friend to go snowmobiling last Wednesday
with him and Suzanne, 43. But after a last-minute cancellation, the couple
headed to Pilot Peak alone.

The mountain ‹ nearly 7,000 feet above sea level and about 40 miles outside
of Boise ‹ was covered in fresh powder.

A simple day trip

"It was going to be a three-hour tour, just like Gilligan's Island," said
Jim Shemwell from his bed at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise. "We went down
into a bowl to play with the snowmobiles, but the powder was so soft and the
slope was so steep that we couldn't get out."

After taking a careful look at the rough terrain, Jim and Suzanne Shemwell
decided to drive the snowmobiles farther down the mountain and then work
their way back to the pickup.

But the deep snow was hiding dangerous obstacles. First Jim drove into a
creek, and Suzanne had to wait while he dug free. They tried winding along a
steep side hill, but Suzanne's snowmobile slid into a tree, twisting her
knee and ankle.

It was nearly 3:30 p.m. by then, and the couple made a decision: They would
camp for the night, and ride Jim's snowmobile out at first light.

The Shemwells are practical. Their youngest daughter, 8-year-old Taryn, was
at a day-care center and they knew the owner would alert family when no one
came to pick up the girl.

By the time Suzanne had used her 10 years of experience as a Girl Scout
leader to build a snow cave and Jim had gathered enough firewood for the
night, phone calls were alerting friends and family that the two were
missing.

Search begins

The Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue team began organizing the search effort
and found the Shemwells' pickup by 11:30. Daughters Dorinda Shemwell, 26,
and Micaela Dingledeim, 20, notified family and nervously waited as a
blizzard began to rage on the peak.

"We had some shop rags that we tore up and used to start the fire, and
Suzanne stayed up that first night to keep it going," said Jim. "Our first
snowcave was too small to fit both of us, so she was curled up next to the
fire and I was curled up right behind her."

They had shared part of a package of Little Smokies sausages. Both expected
to be home within 24 hours.

Thursday morning they climbed on Jim's snowmobile, but the steep terrain and
soft powder burned out the clutch.

"It took us five hours to get as far as we could have walked in 15 minutes,"
said Jim. "We abandoned both machines and decided to walk to where we could
follow some snowmobile tracks."

Jim took the lead, tramping down the snow so that Suzanne could walk behind.
Just 5 feet tall, she was dwarfed by the 10-foot snowbanks created by nearly
5 feet of new snow. They scooped up handfuls of snow to eat, Jim stopping
occasionally to wring out his 25-cent gloves.

By that evening, they had found no tracks. Again, they camped for the night.
As if things were not hard enough, the handle broke on the tiny
shovel-and-saw combination tool they needed for fire and shelter.

The last shop rag was wrapped around the saw blade so Jim could continue to
cut wood for heat.

"The nights felt pretty long. The cold would cramp your muscles and it was
not comfortable," he said.

They took turns keeping the fire alive, talking about what they would eat
when they got home and how they would make it there.

"Jim is not a man of many words," said Suzanne. "But he kept me going. I got
a little whiny sometimes, and once I got pretty frantic. But he calmed me
down, helped me along."

Friday passed just like Thursday, except it marked the last of the Little
Smokies. They could see the high dome of Pilot Peak and crawled along the
steep slope toward the top, where they knew they would find other
snowmobilers.

The couple took turns yelling and blowing Suzanne's whistle, and prayed for
salvation from the snow.

On Saturday, they thought their prayers were answered. First a plane flew
overhead, then a helicopter. The Shemwells yelled and waved their
multicolored helmets in the air, and waited for the rescuers to come. An
hour later they knew no one had seen them.

"We were both in tears, crying, saying, 'We're going home,' " said Jim.
"When they didn't come, Suze was starting to get some doubts. But I told her
we were going to the top of the mountain, and we were getting out of there."

A reason to continue

Suzanne kept thinking of Taryn, nicknamed Tinkerbell.

"I knew we just had to get home for Tinkerbell. Our other two daughters are
older, married, but Tinkerbell really needs us," she said.

Sunday morning was the hardest, Jim said.

"I knew we were close to not making it. I have prayed more during those five
days than ever in my life, and I just felt we had to proceed on," he said.

Malnutrition and physical stress were wearing on the couple. Both had
frostbite on their feet. Suzanne's big toes were blackened by the cold.

She was so weak that Jim tied the tow rope they had salvaged from the
snowmobiles around her waist and pulled her up the mountain. Three-quarters
of the way, they camped again.

Meanwhile, Rod Knopp, coordinator for the Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue
effort, regretfully suspended the search. There had been several avalanches
in the 50-square-mile area where they believed the Shemwells were stranded,
and they could not risk any more lives until conditions got better.

At 11 a.m. Monday, Suzanne and Jim found what they had been looking for: a
thin ribbon in the snow marking the tracks of a snowmobiler. Despite the
danger, some volunteers had not given up. Using the last bit of battery in
their two-way radio, they finally contacted searchers Scott Marquart and
Julio Eiguren.

Minutes later they were feasting on beef jerky, granola bars and protein
shakes as tears streamed down their cold cheeks. By 3:30, they were on their
way to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, shouting messages of love and
goodwill to friends and family gathered in the parking lot.

Both survived the ordeal intact; doctors say Suzanne won't even lose a
toenail despite the frostbite.

"It was just teamwork that got us through it, pure and simple," said Jim as
he prepared to be released yesterday. "Not panicking, not getting upset with
each other and making decisions together."

Suzanne, who will be hospitalized a little longer, said Jim's strength kept
her alive.

"Normally I'm the strong one, the controlling one," she said. "I had to
really count on Jim up there. He pulled me along. He didn't abandon me. We
made it together."

As she recovered yesterday, a friend stopped by her hospital room to wish
Suzanne well and ask her about the ordeal.

Jim and Suzanne's marriage had been struggling. They weren't sharing with
each other anymore, and Suzanne often wondered if it was just a matter of
time.

Surviving the Idaho wilderness for nearly a week may not solve all their
problems, Suzanne said, but she whispered softly to her friend during a hug,
"Everything happens for a reason."

Moments later she told a reporter, "When I said our marriage needed a
miracle, I didn't know this would be it."
 
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S
Nov 26, 2007
63
0
6
46
AK
www.ride907.com
THATS why i dont watch lifetime movies lol. but those old doos will go anywhere according to the kid lol. cool to see some sleds on tv i guess a little much girly drama for my liking though..
 
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