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Helicopters continued to search today for two Albuquerque snowboarders missing at a Colorado ski area, but the ground search was put on hold, and search officials may suspend the search indefinitely, said the father of one of the men.

Crews have been looking for any sign of Michael George and Kyle Kerschen, both 27, who were last seen Friday at Wolf Creek Ski Area.

But Marc George said from Colorado that authorities might call off the helicopters at the end of the day today if there was still no sign of the missing men.

"There's just been absolutely no clues," he said. "It's hard to even know where to look."

Although there has been no sign that the missing men are still alive, George said it is too early to give up the search.

"The family feels like we've been hampered by weather, and they need to continue searching in case they're buried somewhere and haven't been able to come out yet," he said.

Sandy Kroll, a Mineral County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman, said today that she could not confirm any part of the search had been suspended or that it might be called off.

Gov. Bill Richardson today asked Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter to extend the search for another 36 hours.

Ritter was preparing to give a speech and his office could not confirm the request, said Craig Bannister, a spokesman for Ritter.

Michael George and Kerschen were reported missing Saturday. Authorities believe they have spent six nights on the mountain, with temperatures dipping as low as zero degrees.

A weekend storm dropped more than 4 feet of snow in the area, which probably hid any signs of the men, Mineral County Sheriff Fred Hosselkus said earlier this week.

Wind and snowstorms prevented helicopters, including one from the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department, from searching Monday and Wednesday.

Snowmobilers and skiers have also searched the area.

Laura George, Michael George's mother, has said the men, who had gone to Wolf Creek to snowboard, were probably not equipped for a survival situation, and probably did not have much food or water with them.

She said the men did not have extensive survival training, but she was optimistic they would know how to find or create shelter to survive their ordeal.

Tim Cochrane, a Colorado search and rescue mission coordinator, visited the ski area Wednesday to evaluate the search efforts, said Howard Paul, president of the Colorado Search and Rescue Board.

Paul was not sure what Cochrane had found, and Cochrane could not be reached for comment today.