[skifishbum]

Just got of the phone with your partner.
FKNA strong work digging him out from a full burial. So glad we took the time to do beacon searches every morning on our hut trip. You can second guess your terrain/ snowpack stability desicions that day, but shit happens. The important thing is your not second guessing your rescue skills. You did what needed to be done and I'm super stoked that things ended well and look forward to be able to ski with the both of you again. Stay safe the rest of the season.

[powderpond]

Without knowing any more particulars (well a few more) I just gotta say whew! And thank the SFB for his persistance in getting the beacon drills going during the trip (the drill with the PROBE, not the one where you are listening to it and walking around like you are listening to your ipod)

[powderpond]

Here is the email on why you should all practice your drills...... and rescue yourselves. The names were changed, to protect the innocent and to characters that in no way resemble the friends these people thankfully still are. (at least until he read his email below)


........i was real, real lucky yesterday...Bozo performed a textbook retrieval -- his skill is the only reason i'm alive today...and i am absolutely convinced that because SFB and ***, ***, were so methodical about setting up beacon drills in canada, Bozo was on top of his game yesterday...i am so grateful that we were together with all you guys and had the benefit of your expertise to learn from...this experience is testament to the importance of practice, practice, practice with beacon, probe and shovel...and one other thing i was glad i picked up from you -- always have a down jacket in the pack -- i was borderline hypothermic and in shock when I finally revived...that jacket was a lifesaver as well...all my best

Krusty.

[The Resonator]

I would also like to thank SFB for all his efforts at the lodge, early morning
digging and burying beacons, and digging them up every night, many times after dark.
I know for a fact the the victim is also very thankful for his efforts, and gives him much credit for his subsequent rescue.

[christian :?)]

Care to throw up a couple of details about what happened, besides a successful recovery?
_________________
There's a whiff of the lynch mob or the lemming migration about any overlarge concentration of like-thinking individuals, no matter how virtuous their cause. - PJ O'Rourke

[powderpond]

A pair that were on the hut trip to the Campbell Ice Field with us a couple weeks ago were involved in full burial in Washington State a couple days ago. A very alert partner, after inability to make voice contact, from quite some distanc beacon located, probe pinpointed and dug up and revived and saved his buddy. Not sure of the exact locale, Moderate day I think, about a 500 foot path, vic found face down, two feet down, eating a snow cone, no time for air space, rapidly unconscious, lost ski, dug out, OK! SFB was the beacon (had his share of bacon too) nutski of the hut, made sure practices were set up daily, people participated. According to those involved, his actions, as well of course the rescuer' s, probably saved a life. I am prodding them for a full accident report.....prod, prod, prod.

[fajimr]

nice job, skifishbum

jim
_________________
Just trying to stay out of the backseat.

[Woolbury]

Thanks to you guys for a very well needed kick in the butt. Beacon practice on the agenda. Any details you can share on this valuable experience are appreciated.

[Noodle Boy]

Good job SFB.
Glad to see you are keeping up the morning practice tradition.
It's good there is a happy ending on this one.

Keep your risk down and your head up.

[Lumpy]

Ok, here’s my story. My partner Krusty and I were touring in the Central Washington Cascades last Wednesday when after skiing an east aspect we decided to move on to another area with north facing slopes in the hope of finding better snow. After climbing to the top of a short 400 ft slope of about 35 degrees we picked an open area with trees 200 ft below us to ski . Krusty went first while I watched until losing sight of him as he entered the trees. It was at this time that I saw the slope to our left break loose and run out of my sight. I was pretty sure it didn’t involve Krusty however after giving a yell and getting no response then several more yells I gingerly skied to the trees where I last saw him. At this point I activated my beacon and moved left into the slide path. It was approximately 100 wide 400 long and a 16 inch crown. At this point I remember having the feeling of absolute disbelief that this was really happening, in fact the reality of the situation didn’t set in until after I picked up his transceiver signal. I also vividly remember the sense of quiet and being very very alone. There was no sign of him on the slope but not wanting to get below him and have to climb back up I started zigzagging down the path. I use a Tracker and didn’t get a signal until I was pretty close to a large debris field with no visible clues to his whereabouts. It turns out that he was hit from above just as he was finishing his run so pretty much the whole hill came down on top of him. I have heard all the arguments concerning the Trackers lack of range but I really don’t feel that this was an issue, at least in this situation. In fact it worked flawlessly. After locking on to his signal I pretty much went straight to the minimum reading of 3.4 feet. After assembling my shovel and probe I struck his pack on the 3rd or 4th attempt, then after determining where his head might be I began digging and clearing snow away only to discover he was face down and stuck tighter than you can imagine. My only option was to try and open an air space to his face until I could dig him out enough to move him. Up to this point everything had been going textbook perfect. I would estimate that his face was cleared of snow within 10 minutes of seeing the slide however with the removal of the snow beside his head I was confronted by a sight I will never ever forget, my partner and best friend lying there not breathing with his face the worst purple and gray color that you can imagine. With air to his face I began excavating which was made more difficult by the fact that loose snow would keep moving to the low spot and cover his mouth again but by alternately digging and brushing snow away I was making pretty good progress. It was around this time that I started hearing weird breathing noises and he slowly started regaining consciousness. Later he told me that he thought he went out in maybe a minute or 2 as there was no air pocket. After freeing him from the hole and getting him into a warm jacket we spent an hour looking for a missing ski with no luck so then the fun really began. He had to posthole through a blinding snowstorm and into the dark for 4 ½ hours back to the car all the while suffering from nausea. Because of binding incompatibility we couldn’t take turns. The recreation ended at close to 8 in the evening. He is tough.
The moral to the story: I am absolutely convinced that the reason Krusty is alive today has much less to do with my actions that day but instead because of my previous practice. Participation in SFB’s practice sessions (thanks Man, more than you will ever know) and having previously set up rescue scenarios that included all the aspects involved that day made the difference. I was so focused on making every second count that instead of taking the time to put my beacon away I held it by the cord in my teeth in order to shovel. Instead of reaching over a couple of feet to grab my gloves I spent that time shoveling barehanded. Go through this and you will have a whole new appreciation of the value of a second. Ask yourself, “How much extra time do I want to spend farting around to get my rescue gear deployed, how many extra minutes do I want to spend digging an inefficient hole or why did I leave some needed gear so far away that I need to waste valuable seconds to retrieve it?” Practice, be safe and have fun.

Bozo

[Noodle Boy]

Well done Lumpy. You deserve big applause!
Any mistakes you wish to share to further all of our education?

[powderpond]

Thank for the true story lumpy, I know how much you hate the internet but that may save somebody else. Shake and bake buddy.

[The Resonator]

BUMP

This needs to be more widely read, now that the report has been posted.

[rootskier]

Wow. Good work and mucho thanks for sharing. Glad it ended the way it did.

[Kokotele]

An amazing story to tell (and well told I might add).

Well freakin' done gentlemen.

SFB keep up the good work!