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Ski patrol raced to free a woman buried for nearly 10 minutes under a couple feet of snow after a small avalanche on Washington's Crystal Mountain. KING's Natalie Swaby reports.
A woman buried by an avalanche Tuesday spent at least 10 minutes under a couple of feet of snow until the ski patrol raced to the scene at Washington state's Crystal Mountain and freed her.
Members of the rescue team and an avalanche rescue dog named Newman rushed to the area where the woman had last been spotted by the two men who were skiing alongside her. Using long metal probes, the rescuers searched in the snow, ski patrol director Paul Baugher told NBC affiliate KING5.
“They felt something fairly quickly, they dug down to investigate, they found a hand,” he said.
The woman was quickly dug out, conscious and breathing. She had been buried for at least 10 minutes, Baugher said.
"She was fine," he said.
Baugher told NBC affiliate KING5 the avalanche took place just after 2 p.m., and the three skiers were caught in the middle of it in a steep area of the slope.
The two men were able to dig themselves out, but the woman was buried under the powder. Baugher told The Associated Press that a ski patrol member reached the area within five minutes after the emergency call came in. Personnel had recently completed avalanche control work nearby, he said.
“There’s always luck,” Baugher told the newspaper. “But when a good outcome comes, we make a lot of that. The skiers helped make some of their own luck.”
A big storm dumped more than 40 inches of snow on Crystal this week and triggered strong winds, increasing the risk for the formation of avalanches.
Crystal Mountain is on the northeast corner of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington’s Cascade Mountains.
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Kudos to the ski patrollers. They're out there in the nastiest weather, on the toughest slopes, in the most dangerous conditions (sometimes all at once) to keep the rest of us safe while we're out there having fun. In this case, they saved a life. In my own experience, they once hauled me off the mountain with a broken ankle. Thanks to all ski patrollers everywhere. You're the best.
"Using long metal probes..."
How do you do that - push it in and listen for a scream?
Actually cheetah those metal probes are probably like the ones we use on the DMZ in Korea to detect tunnels from the North.Super sensative and detect vibration as well as cavities in the ground.I don't know exactly how they work so i will just leave it at that.
cheetah & wolf, nope, its just a slender rod, they push it into the snow till it hits something.
The two men were able to dig themselves out, but the woman was buried under the powder.
The above is from the article. It may have been power before the avalanche, its anything but after the fact, the violence of an avalanche generates heat (friction between the snowflakes) that quickly dissipates once the snow stops moving, the snow sets up very hard within seconds make self rescue nearly impossible if the victim is totally covered. IF you're unfortunate enough to be caught in an avalanche, swim as if in water, if buried and still conscious, as the snow stops moving, it is critical to move your body as much as possible to create a cavity for air and limb movement. Once it stops completely, you're trapped for the duration, be it rescue or recovery.
You're welcome. Looks like there was a lot of wind driven snow on that slope, always very dangerous. The skier was extremely lucky, 10 minutes is a very long time to be buried. Great work by the patrollers.
I don't know why ALL skiers don't carry GPS beacons. Same as climbers. As far as I'm concerned those partrollers shouldn't have to risk their lives to find people who don't value theirs. Climbers are the worst. GPS beacons should be mandatory for climbers.
RIGHT stepasdiesue.Let's pass some more laws.The politicians have nothing else to do.
'GPS beacon'? You have no clue what you're talking about so please continue not recreating in the great outdoors.
She was lucky that the two guys skiing with her were able to dig themselves out. They were able to quickly point the ski patrol to the area where she was buried. The problem the ski patrol usually faces in these situation is that they only have a general idea where the person might be buried based on observations from people some distance away. It is rare to have someone who was right there who is able to guide the searchers to a more specific location. Of course if you are going back country skiing or skiing in an area that is prone to avalanches it is always a good idea to have a locator beacon on you. These emit a high pitched beeping sound that can guide searchers to your location, assuming you are not buried too deep. It is also great that they had am alert ski patrol at the area who were on scene quickly. In these situations every minute counts. Too often I have seen ski patrol member more interested in trying to pick up dates than in paying attention to what is going on around the mountain.
a slow day in South Dakota? more snow on the way for you it seems.Get your snow blower out
are you retarded? avalanche beacons do not emit a high pitched beeping sound
.
One ping only.....lol
@antelopes22 - JS in SD may be better informed than you think. Early avalanche transceivers transmitted at 2.275 kHz, which is well within the audible range. It is true that since 1986 the international standard has been 457 kHz which is inaudible. But what I'd really like to know is what value you think your ad hominem added to the discussion.
'emit a high pitched beeping sound' Jesus, this thread is rich in hilarity.
@Work2Ski - only if you find facts hilarious. See my post 3.5.
Very scary. I am glad they found her.
You really need to prevent yourself from getting burried by your recreational time. I mean, if you feel under the weather, it may be time to move onto other things.
She should buy a lottery ticket.
if skies were outlawed and skiing made illegal other people wouldn't have to risk their lives to rescue the idiot skiers.
@boomer812 - if skies were outlawed, what would you see when you look up?
DFTT
Wanted to correct an error made in the article. Ski patrol did not remove this girl from the snow. Skiers did, including an ER doctor and a wilderness EMT. Ski patrol arrived as she was being unburied.
Boomer I'd vote for a law preventing you from breeding.
and i thought dogs were named boomer.
skibum, no law needed. boomer has no balls nor brains, so breeding is not an option.
Holy suffocation-is-an-ugly-way-to-die, those skiers are all uber fortunate. Patrollers rock (that from an instructor) my helmet is off to them for everything they do. When patrol goes on an avalanche rescue, their first risk is more avalanches, bear that in mind when "deciding" whether to try that untracked slope out past the boundary rope-you are risking much more than your own reckless ass. RIP to Du DuVal and the other patrollers that have died in avvy searches.
Well, I have to say it, looks like it's going to be a good year for skiing in the Cascades this year.
I hear if you are buried like that, you should drool and that will tell you which way is "up" (opposite of the drool). Glad to know that skill might come in handy some day...
Drooling is the way I tell which end is up most of the time!
The ski patrol deserves most of the credit. They did a stellar rescue as they always do. These patrollers are dedicated and this woman's rescue demonstrates that. This is also a reminder to carry avalanche detectors in avalanche conditions. A merry Christmas to everyone!
That's odd, I remember about 6 years ago, Al Gore claimed the ski industry would only have snow for two more years. Since then oddly the ski resorts out west have had record snow years.