5 Teens Missing Overnight on Ski Trip All Safe

Five teenagers who spent the night lost at a northern Idaho ski resort that was raked by a snowstorm were safe Sunday after three found their way to safety and two were spotted by snowmobilers.

“There wasn’t much to do but keep yourself huddled together,” said Aaron Baudry-Peterson, who was among the three 15-year-old boys who found their way out.

“You just sat there and you didn’t get any sleep,” he said. “So I sat there and I prayed all night long.”

The two boys who were found by snowmobilers--Canadian brothers A.J. Kolla, 13, and Mike Kolla, 15--were in good condition Sunday afternoon at Schweitzer Mountain ski resort.

“The younger boy possibly has frostbitten hands,” one searcher said.

The three 15-year-olds, who were on an outing with a church group from Spokane, Wash., trekked through waist-deep snow to reach safety Sunday morning.

They said they had been snowboarding and had not seen out-of-bounds signs before they got lost in the storm.

They spent the night in a snow cave they built and started walking downhill around dawn. They said they followed train whistles to find the base of the mountain.

They eventually reached the home of Bill Findley, a member of the sheriff’s search team who was home sick.

“They were soaked clear through and shaking,” Findley said. “Their hands were pure white.”

Another of the trio was identified as Justin Hager; the third boy in the group was not identified.

They were suffering from frostbite and one was “pretty ill,” Bonner County sheriff’s Cpl. Bob Howard said. The boys were taken to a hospital in Sandpoint.