Montrose - Daily Press

Story by Elaine Hale Jones

For well over a century, the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado have beckoned those from the outside world to partake in its riches and scenic beauty. Throughout its history, however, the area's beauty has been marred by powerful and deadly forces of Mother Nature with over 100 potential avalanche paths located in the vicinity of Red Mountain Pass alone. In the early 1900s, snow tunnels 40 feet high and 400 feet long were dug at the Riverside Slide area, south of Ouray, to allow passage for freight wagons, buggies and stagecoaches. Later, when the route became a two-lane highway over the 12,890 foot pass, the snow tunnels disappeared, but not the ominous threat of the East and West Riverside Slides ... slides with the reputation of killing at will.

Rev. Marvin Hudson drove the route from Ouray over Red Mountain Pass to Silverton six days a week. Monday through Friday, he taught sixth grade students at the Silverton school. On Sundays, he ministered to congregations in Ouray and Silverton. In his spare time, he raised Angus cattle on 1,300 acres near Ridgway. He and his wife, Mary, were also the parents of five children.

Family members and friends gathered on Saturday, Aug. 9 to rebuild the memorial in honor of Rev. Marvin Hudson and two of his daughters, Amelia and Pauline, who perished March 3, 1963 in the East Riverside snowslide on Red Mountain Pass. Pictured from left to right are: Bob Boulger, son-in-law; David Hudson, only son of Rev. Marvin Hudson; Brad Hudson, nephew; Vernon Hudson, brother; and Henry Kolego, former student of Marvin's sixth grade class in Silverton. (Courtesy Photo) Advertisement

"He never knew what slow was," recalled Vernon Hudson, lifelong rancher and resident of Ridgway and Marvin's younger brother. "He always wanted his food lukewarm so he could eat in a hurry."

Marvin's son, David, of Horseshoe Bay, Texas, described his father as a "driven" man and a real "go-getter."

"I can remember him coming into the house, his face full of grease (from doing his own mechanic work)," said Marie Boulger, David's sister and one of the four daughters of Marvin and Mary Hudson, and a current resident of Grand Junction, Colo.

Daughter, Ruth, also of Grand Junction, remembered that her father would bring two kids from his class home each weekend to "experience the ranch life."

Memories like this filled the Hudson ranch house near Ridgway last weekend as family and friends from across the country gathered to hold a special service for Marvin's wife, Mary, who passed away this spring and to rebuild the monument on Red Mountain Pass in memory of Marvin and two of his daughters, victims of the infamous East Riverside Slide.

"This (family project) brings closure to the Ridgway part of our lives," Marie added. "It will always be a part of us."

Many accounts have been written of that fateful day 45 years ago.

"Dad had a brand new Studebaker," son, David, recalled, adding that his father was no stranger to snow-packed roads. In fact, several years earlier, he and his father were on their way to Silverton when a snow slide blocked the highway. Another motorist, who happened to be a Catholic priest, was stranded on the other side; the two men ended up exchanging cars and going on their way.

A storm, typical of springtime in the Rockies, was raging across the mountains on the morning of Sunday, March 3, 1963. Marvin, accompanied by two of his children, Amelia, age 17, (the oldest) and Pauline, age 11, (the youngest) started out in his Studebaker, headed for Silverton.

While concern about the drive was expressed early on, Marvin assured family and friends that if the weather got too bad, he would turn around and come home.

About five miles south of Ouray, the trio encountered several snow plows clearing the East Riverside Slide, which had just run down the nearly 3,200 vertical chute onto the highway. Inching his way through a single lane that had just been plowed, the reverend's car began to lose traction. Believing that the avalanche had already "run its course," Marvin stopped the car and got out to put chains on.

In an unexpected, blinding moment, the East Riverside Slide rolled once again down the steep mountainside. One of the snowplow drivers who witnessed the horrific event, recalled seeing the car stopped alongside the highway. When the thick clouds of white powdery snow finally cleared, the car and three members of the Hudson family had vanished.

A search team was organized immediately, but it would be seven days before Rev. Hudson's body was discovered in snow up to 60 feet deep. Three days later, one of the daughters was found. Three months later, the last daughter's body was recovered.

Surviving family members credit Lawrence Onan, then pastor of the Ridgway Community Church, with "helping the family grieve." The pastor was also instrumental in getting support to build a monument in honor and memory of Rev. Hudson and his two daughters and a reminder of the powerful, and often unpredictable, force of avalanches.

Mary Hudson, age 88, passed away March 3, 2008, 45 years to the day that her husband and two of her daughters perished in the East Riverside Slide. She had never remarried. One of her last requests was for her family to refurbish the memorial on Red Mountain Pass.

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