CREEDE, Colo. -- Hopes dimmed Thursday for two snowboarders missing since last weekend amid brutal weather in the southwestern Colorado mountains and plans were in place to stop the search at noon Thursday.

"We're into the sixth day, and (for) somebody who's not prepared for the elements, it's not a good situation," Mineral County Sheriff Fred Hosselkus said.

Michael George and Kyle Kerschen, both 27 and both from Albuquerque, N.M., vanished without a trace on Saturday near the Wolf Creek Ski Resort about 170 miles southwest of Denver. Only a car belonging to the two has been found and it was in the ski resort parking lot.

On Thursday, the parents of both men issued a plea to Colorado and New Mexico authorities to continue searching for the two:

"While weather has presented the biggest challenge thus far, we strongly believe that a continued joint search and rescue effort amongst the Wolf Creek Ski patrol, Archuleta and Mineral Counties, Colorado and New Mexico state search and rescue teams both on the ground and in the air (weather permitting) will yield more conclusive results. We implore county and state agencies from both states to please continue the effort of finding our loved ones. We call upon Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to offer resources and any additional support at this time to continue this search effort. With your support we believe that our sons will return home safely," they said in a statement.

Bad weather has repeatedly hampered the search, but on Thursday morning skies were clear and winds were calm, and Hosselkus said two helicopters and searchers on skis resumed the hunt.

George's mother, Laura George, has said the men were unprepared for cold nights in the open and probably didn't have much food or water.

A weekend storm dropped more than 4 feet of snow in the area, and high winds kept the helicopters grounded on Wednesday.

"All the factors involved, the snow that came in those days, the wind, nothing was working for them," Hosselkus said of the missing men.

The weekend storm left up to 10,000 customers without power, closed roads and heightened the danger of avalanches.

Road crews closed highways over six mountain passes on Wednesday to clear away snow that could trigger avalanches.

Conditions were so bad that the state Division of Wildlife decided to put out emergency feed for deer, bighorn sheep and other big game in southwest Colorado's Gunnison Basin, fearing the cold and snow were sapping their energy.

The last time wildlife officers fed big game in the Gunnison area was 1997. Last year, they fed deer and pronghorns amid blizzards in southeastern Colorado.