Rangers consider options for frozen cows

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ASPEN, Colo., April 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Forest Service officials said they are trying to figure out what to do with six cows that wandered into a Colorado cabin and froze solid.

Forest Service officials said the cows, which were discovered at Conundrum Hot Springs, near Aspen, by a pair of hikers in late March, are difficult to transport because of the 8.5 mile trail that serves as the only access to the cabin, the Aspen Daily News reported Wednesday.

Forest Service officials said they are considering using explosives to destroy the frozen cows, but they are concerned about the high fire danger and a current ban on prescribed burns.

The officials said the trail is too snowy to use horses to haul the carcasses and a helicopter would be too expensive.

Scott Snelson, Aspen-Sopris ranger with the U.S. Forest Service, said a decision needs to be made before the cows begin to decompose and pose a contamination hazard to the nearby springs.

"We need to dispose of them sooner than later," Snelson said. "It needs to be done within weeks."