The father of missing Yellowstone National Park hiker Austin King and volunteers are scrambling to scour the remote Eagle Peak area before Wednesday night, when a winter storm is expected to move in.  The private effort — which Brian King-Henke launched after the park downscaled its efforts to rescue the 22-year-old — hit a major snag Monday night when park officials did not approve a request to fly in additional ground searchers via a helicopter, effort organizer John Lamb said Tuesday.  “We felt that it was very important to utilize these next two days before new snow falls, because we may not get another chance until next year,” Lamb said. “We were not mad, but we were just disappointed.”  The park did not approve the request for the contracted helicopter because it was unable to verify if the helicopter pilot had sufficient experience flying and landing in mountainous terrain, Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a Tuesday statement.  The peak sits east of Yellowstone Lake in a roadless area of mountain ridges, dense woods and steep topography that many consider among the most inaccessible landscapes in the Lower 48. “We deeply sympathize with Austin’s family and their desire to continue searching for him,” Sholly said in a statement, adding that safety is paramount. “At this time, the park has limited resources to respond to Eagle Peak if something were to go wrong. The park’s helicopter is gone and there are limited air support resources capable of conducting high mountain rescues.” A person walks the southwest ridge of Eagle Peak in Yellowstone National Park during the search for missing hiker Austin King. Search crews encountered accumulations of snow and ice and 6-foot drifts on Eagle Peak.(NPS/Jacob W. Frank) The contracted helicopter was a local service with mountain experience, Lamb said. The private effort found the service, fundraised to cover its costs and volunteers provided the park with all the information it asked for, Lamb said.  The change of plans meant the effort lacked the manpower it hoped for to search the region around the peak, Lamb said. As of Tuesday afternoon, two volunteers were still out on foot searching the mountain. They were expected to return Wednesday.  Given the weather forecast, he said, “We do plan on stopping all [current] efforts [Wednesday] evening.” They won’t, however, give up. A note King scrawled into the summit register offers new clues about the conditions and route he may have taken, Lamb said, and they have identified new areas to search. “We’re still gonna help fight and look for Austin,” he said. “We’re just gonna have to use other resources some other way.” ‘Ruthless weather’ As of Tuesday, King had been missing for 25 days. The park concession employee set out in mid-September on a seven-day solo backcountry trip, and was last heard from around 7 p.m. on Sept. 17, when he called and texted friends and family after summiting the 11,372-foot Eagle Peak — the tallest point in the park — amid fog, rain and severe winds.  King also signed the register at the top of the peak, and his entry offers further clues about the conditions on the mountain.  “I can’t feel my fingers and my glasses are so fogged from the ruthless weather of the mountains,” he wrote in wobbly handwriting. “I truly cannot believe I am here after what it took to be here. I endured rain, sleet, hail and the most wind I have ever felt. I could not see Eagle for most of the day due to the most fog I have ever seen in my life.” Austin King’s Sept. 17 entry into the register atop Eagle Peak offers information about the conditions he hiked through. (Courtesy) King was reported overdue Sept. 20 after he failed to show up for a scheduled boat pick-up on the shore of Yellowstone Lake’s Southeast Arm. Park officials initiated a search the following morning at first light. In the 11 days that followed, more than 100 people participated in the effort with helicopters, search dogs, spotting scopes, trackers and a drone. The effort logged more than 3,225 air and ground miles in the area near Eagle Peak.  Search crews with Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and Park and Teton counties scoured the mountain on foot and from the air. They encountered accumulations of snow and ice and 6-foot drifts on Eagle Peak — evidence of the storm the King encountered.  Rescuers discovered his camp in the upper Howell Creek area, but did not locate the missing hiker. They recovered his belongings and returned them to the family, park spokesperson Morgan Warthin confirmed Tuesday.  On Oct. 2, Yellowstone downshifted the effort from a rescue to a recovery.  Not giving up Brian King-Henke traveled to Yellowstone during the initial search, but remained in West Yellowstone. Once the park downscaled the search, he returned home to Minnesota. But King’s father wasn’t content to just sit around, Lamb said. After a mutual friend connected them, Lamb, a Montana resident, agreed to help.  The men launched the private search last week, soliciting help over social media and logging their progress on Facebook. Donations poured into a GoFundMe page, which has raised more than $13,000. King-Henke drove back to Wyoming, arriving in Cody Oct. 9.  Volunteers established camp, donated supplies, brought food and set out on foot to search for King — a 14-mile hike from the trailhead to the peak. The effort has not located King.  This missing poster shows a picture of hiker Austin King, left, on the morning of his departure on a seven-day backcountry trip. King failed to show up to his scheduled boat pickup on Sept. 20, 2024. (NPS) The National Weather Service forecast calls for rain and snow to move into Yellowstone National Park Wednesday night and continuing through Friday, with temperatures dipping to a low of 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Nearby park facilities in Lake Village, Grant Village and Fishing Bridge are closed for the year. The East and South Entrances are scheduled to close on Oct. 31.  In Facebook posts, King-Henke has thanked people for their outpouring of support and maintained positivity. “Hoping to find Austin before the weather starts to change on us Wednesday into Thursday,” he posted Monday. “Really hoping God holds the weather off for a little bit longer for us.” The post Missing Yellowstone hiker’s dad continues ground search without park’s OK for helicopter appeared first on WyoFile .