Snow Lion Expeditions blames economy for its failure to pay trek leader - Oregon residents Anne Uzzell and Eric Ronemus are furious that a Salt Lake City tour company, Snow Lion Expeditions, left them stranded in Nepal last month, $7,240 poorer.
    The company's owner, Ron Barness, is apologetic but does not know how to rectify the situation. He claims the global credit crisis wiped him out before he could react.
    "I had various sources of capital that vaporized in one week," said Barness, whose company handled logistics for trips to exotic places, such as a recent foray into North Korea. But now it is bound for bankruptcy.
    "We operated inside a growing economy for 17 1/2 years. Once the economy began to retract, we weren't really prepared for it," he said. "I have shareholders who were unable or unwilling to help the organization. I wasn't able to help. I put all the capital I have into the company. I refinanced my house three times. We were caught inside of a perfect storm where the source of the capital dried up and we were unable to finance our organization going forward."
    When the bottom fell out, Barness had several tour groups in Asia, including the "Everest Close Up" group that included Uzzell and Ronemus of Central Point, Ore.
    The duo flew on their own into Kathmandu on Oct. 8, were greeted at the airport by their expedition leader and taken to a hotel, where they met five fellow trekkers.

How  is this legal?" she questioned. "It is an utter outrage and injustice to us as human beings and a downright embarrassment that this company is doing business as an ambassador of the United States."Only then, said Uzzell, did the local ground operator inform them that Snow Lion had not paid him for their trip. He couldn't do it for nothing, and Snow Lion already owed him money.
    The trekkers had a choice: Go home, or pay the local operator to take them. "After a night of mulling over these two very extreme options, all seven of us paid [the local operator] to provide the same itinerary previously booked and for which we had already paid in full," she said.
    Uzzell is angry, saying Barness let them fly halfway around the world without telling them about his financial woes, then used the economic crisis as a scapegoat.
    "The bottom line is he took a whole lot of money from us and it didn't go to where it was supposed to. I don't know what became of the money," she said. Her one consolation is the couple had bought trip insurance in case of altitude-induced medical problems - and the policy had a provision for cancellations.
    Still, Uzzell worries that Snow Lion's Web site gives no indications the company is out of business and that other travelers could lose money. She is considering filing a complaint with the state Division of Consumer Protection, but had not done so Tuesday. A division spokesman said he was aware of the matter, though had not been notified formally by Snow Lion customers.
    Barness said he is not taking new reservations. "We're essentially out of business. This is a really sad story. We've served 3,000 people in 17 years and had a wonderful track record."
    Those clients include Olivia Agraz and husband Jess, the former Salt Lake City commissioner. They took the Snow Lion-sponsored trip to North Korea in August and earlier used the company for a customized trek through southeast Asia.
    "We always thought they were a great company," she said. "I really feel bad for Ron because he tries so hard to make everybody happy. He's a victim of the times we're going through now."
    That perspective doesn't sit well with Amanda Bronson, 33, of Sacramento, who paid more than $5,000 and "dreamed of hiking in the Himalayas for 10 years," only to be left hanging with Uzzell and the others.

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