On Dec. 15, 2008, two Robson Valley residents made a startling discovery, high in the alpine on Mount Renshaw. Two horses were clinging to life on the mountainside in a snow prison; their tails gone and their fur falling off due to frost bite. 

The two men, Logan Jeck and Leif Gunster, couldn’t just leave the horses. They returned the next day prepared to put the two horses out of their misery, but instead a rescue mission was launched to save them. 

On Nov. 16, Birgit Stutz’s book on the rescue, The Rescue of Belle and Sundance: A Miracle on Mount Renshaw, launched. The book follows the true story of the heartbreaking rescue that saw Belle and Sundance recover and lead a new life of happiness.

When Stutz was contacted by an agent just three days after the horses were brought down off the mountain, she didn’t believe it.

“It sounded too good to be true,” she said. “She was all excited, and even more excited that I was a journalist.”

Stutz was paired with novelist Lawrence Scanland, who has written nine books about horses. Scanland helped Stutz out with the local jargon she used.

“He comes at the story with an outside perspective,” Stutz said. 

One of the challenges was that Stutz couldn’t tell anybody about the book for the first three months because she didn’t have an official publisher yet, but she needed to interview the volunteers in order to write it.

“We had to keep it hush-hush,” she said. 

Stutz began by writing a diary of her experiences and going through the many emails that were sent during the rescue. She kept in contact with Scanland over Skype. 

“Thank God for technology,” Stutz said.

The book went through four drafts before it was approved, which Stutz says was frustrating. When she believed she had the story right, the publisher would ask her to change it. There was also the cover art, photos and sleeves of the book that needed to be done. 

“There’s a lot of little things you don’t really think about,” she said. 

Stutz received a lot of help from her publisher, HarperCollins. 

The story begins with Belle and Sundance on the mountain in the fall, and follows the turn of the season into winter. In the first chapter, the horses are discovered and the rescue begins to be planned.

“We had all kinds of ideas to get them off the mountain,” Stutz said. 

Eventually the town of McBride banded together and began digging a one-kilometre trench out of the horses’ snow prison. It took 45 people eight days to dig the trench, as the horses began their recovery under the care of a veterinarian. The horses were freed on Dec. 23, 2008. Stutz said Christmas was the perfect time for the rescue, with many people back in town for the holidays. 

“There were a lot of people here who weren’t usually here,” Stutz said. 

Even with so many people helping, Stutz said the progress was still slow. Some days there were only a couple people up helping, and the task seemed daunting in the coldest weather of the year. 

“It was tough. It was not an easy thing to do,” Stutz said. “I found it emotionally difficult. At the beginning we didn’t know if it was going to work out.”

It was also frustrating to see the horses in their emaciated state. Even though they were starving, the volunteers were unable to feed them too much everyday on the advice of a veterinarian. Another challenge was turning snow into water for the thirsty horses. It takes approximately 10 litres of snow to make just one litre of water. 

Now, the two rescued horses are living happily with owners that care for them. Sundance was sent to a farm in Kamloops, and Belle is now trained and being ridden by her owner in Prince George. Belle returned to McBride earlier this spring to be trained by Stutz, and was ridden in the town’s parade. 

The original owner, a lawyer from Edmonton, was charged, and found guilty in court. He was ordered to pay restitution and to undergo treatment. He appealed that decision and did not have to go to treatment. Stutz said the appeal was disappointing.

“Money for him is just a slap on the wrist,” she said. 

The Rescue of Belle and Sundance: A Miracle on Mount Renshaw is available at Bearfoot in the Park in Jasper. In McBride the book can be found at the McBride Trading Co., the Farm Store and the Visitor Info Centre. In Valemount, copies can be picked up at The Gathering Tree, and at the Dunster Store in Dunster. Books can also be ordered through Chapters or Amazon. 

On Dec. 3, Stutz will be doing a book reading at The Gathering Tree from 6 to 8 p.m. She hopes to do a reading in Jasper sometime in December.