A sunken snowcat that claimed the lives of two men in Western Colorado was recently recovered from the waters of a mountain lake located at an elevation of 10,300 feet.
The snowcat had previously come to rest up 75 feet under the water after being taken onto Island Lake on Grand Mesa by two Delta County men last winter. Despite over 30 inches of frozen thickness, the snowcat broke through the ice and plunged into the frigid waters.
A few days after the accident, search and rescue teams recovered the bodies of the two men identified as Ryan Wells and Ricky Colton.
Adventures with Purpose shared the Youtube video from their first attempt to retrieve the 15,000-pound snowcat from the high country waters in July.
After a failed attempt, Adventures with Purpose made a second attempt on Tuesday, pulling the 15,000-pound snowcat from the lake's water. It had been submerged since February of 2019.
Pulling the snowcat from the depths required crews to use balloon-type bags to lift the 15,000-pound machine to the lake's surface. It was then winched to the shore and loaded onto a trailer. A new video showing the full extraction is set to be released on Friday.
Island Lake is located along Highway 65 over the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway just 23 miles south of Mesa and 16 miles north of Cedaredge.
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