State of Vermont
House of Representatives
Montpelier, Vermont
Joint House Resolution
www.leg.state.vt.us
J.R.H. 202
Joint resolution honoring the fish and game wardens who participated in the Jay Peak ski rescue
Offered by: The Committee on Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources
Whereas, on January 5, 2002, three skiers were lost when they veered off the trail at Jay Peak, and
Whereas, while two of the skiers were located the following day, one remained lost, prompting a full-scale search and rescue operation, and
Whereas, at 2 a.m. on the morning of January 7, 2002, state game wardens Denton and LeCours were contacted, and
Whereas, recognizing the magnitude of the territory that needed to be covered, in a very short period of time, if the skier was not to perish, the state police immediately called upon the state game warden force, including wardens Greg Eckhardt, Robert Lewis, Carl Wedin, Keith Gallant, Russell Shopland, Brad Mann, Dennis Reinhardt, Chris Clark, Kevin Carvey and Robert Lutz, a total of one-third of the entire warden force, and
Whereas, the primary search area, the steep basin on the west side of Jay Peak, was deeply covered in snow, thus necessitating the rescue teams to traverse the terrain in snowshoes, and
Whereas, at 12:15 in the afternoon of January 7, search team #12, consisting of Warden Robert Lutz and State Trooper Dan Kerin, located the skier, who was suffering from hypothermia, at the base of a tree, and
Whereas, shortly thereafter, wardens Reinhardt and Clark, who are both emergency medical technicians, arrived at the site, administered first aid, and Warden Clark stripped the skier of his wet clothes, replacing them with some of his own, and
Whereas, the evacuation of the skier required over three hours, and
Whereas, wardens Reinhardt and Lutz, who have served for 15 years, and Warden Clark, who is an 18-year veteran, are stellar examples of the outstanding caliber of Vermont’s fish and game wardens, and
Whereas, annually, each warden is called upon to assist in at least one rescue, while the overall warden force is involved in approximately a halfdozen major and two dozen minor rescues, and
Whereas, Vermonters can speak with pride of their superb state game wardens, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly is proud to honor the state’s game wardens who participated in the January 7, 2002 Jay Peak ski rescue, and in particular, wardens Chris Clark, Robert Lutz and Dennis Reinhardt, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send copies of this resolution to game wardens Chris Clark, Robert Lutz and Dennis Reinhardt.
______Attested to:
Speaker of the House
______
President of the Senate Donald G. Milne
Clerk, House of Representatives
www.leg.state.vt.us