Here's a true story. Hopefully it will remind us all of how dangerous avalanches can be in the back country!
 
On Saturday (Dec 13) Beth, Wade, Sancho and I were heading up to Mt Baker ski area for a back country ski trip up to Artist Point. Sancho and I were excited since it had been two years since we were out skiing, and I was looking forward to seeing if my old skis could still make those tele turns. We got a late start due to pancakes and car trouble, so it was already 11 AM when we started skiing out of the upper parking lot. It was a blizzard of snow and mist. I was surprised to see 2-3 feet of fresh snow and quickly realized we wouldn't be reaching Artist Point in these conditions.
 
Wade talked to some ski patrol people while we were heading up next to the ski run. They warned him of high avalanche danger and a possible burial of 2 people on the trail up to Artist Point. Later we heard that actually 3 people on snow shoes had been caught in an avalanche Friday morning approx 11 AM. One man had dug himself out of the snow and walked back to the ski area. It was assumed that the other two people in the party were dead.
 
We continued up the ski slope still hoping to get a little exercise and a few turns. It was cold and windy with zero visibility when we reached the ski boundary signs on top.  Wade wanted to go a little further and I figured we would end up stopping before the steep avalanche slope that heads up to Artist Point. A few minutes later Wade yells back to us that someone had found another avalanche survivor and they needed help. He asked Beth and I to go back to the ski area and get a message to the ski patrol.  We told the first responsible skier that we saw to ski down to the chair lift and give the operators the message. Then Beth and I turned around to follow Wade's trail and see what we could do to help.
 
The snow was deep and made slow going.  We were sweating in spite of the cold as we tried to hurry up the ski trail. Wade was still ahead of us and said he could hear their voices. I looked up to see we were just at the start of the steep snow slope. Perfect place for an avalanche. Sancho, Beth and I were following the main road and passed by the short cut trail that switch backs up to Artist Point. If we had just been out skiing for the day I think this would have been our turn around spot.  But since there was someone alive and needed help we kept going. A few minutes later we found a group of people at the hair pin curve in the road. Wade had already talked to them and was getting ready to head back down. His job was to find the ski patrol people and have them send a snow mobile or cat up there to evacuate the survivor.
 
Beth and I looked around at the group. We could see one woman lying in the snow across a man's lap. Two other people were digging out the third person who was dead.  Immediately we emptied our packs and got out all our extra clothes and gear. I started talking to the victim and found out her name was Lisa. Her teeth were chattering but she was still able to talk. We put the packs down on the ground and Sancho laid down next to Lisa. We piled all our jackets and coats on top of them. The man holding Lisa was named Adam. He gave us some more information on what had happened that day.
 
Adam and a friend were skiing down in Swift Creek Saturday morning when they heard someone shouting.  They skied over to help and found the man who had dug himself out of the avalanche. He had been buried all night but was okay. Adam helped the man walk back down to the ski area to get medical attention. Then Adam and his friend headed back out to the avalanche sight to see if they could find any other survivors.  They probed the area with their ski poles until they found Lisa under about 3 feet of snow and dug her out. Two other back country skiers in the area had also come over to help with the search and digging.  
 
Wow. I still couldn't believe that anyone could survive a night after being buried in an avalanche. It was about 12-12:30 when we had arrived on the scene and I expected to hear the ski patrol drive up any minute.  Adam gave Lisa a little water and some hot soup.  Beth and I rubbed her body and tried to shield her and Adam from the snow that was still coming down. They had tied Lisa's legs together with a ski pole. Adam said her knee looked twisted when they found her buried, and they were also afraid she might have back or neck damage. I kept Lisa talking and we found out she was a student at Western Washington. We talked about nothing and everything just trying to keep her awake and warm her up.
 
It took much longer than we expected to get help. About 2 PM we heard an engine and saw the big snow cat moving toward us across the avalanche slope. Beth and the other skiers moved all of our gear out of the way to make room for the cat. People jumped off the back of the cat and brought a litter over to Lisa. We loaded her carefully into the litter and then lifted it onto the back of the cat. The driver yelled over to us to get in and let's get going. Beth, Sancho and I piled into the front of the cat.  Adam and some others rode in the back with Lisa.  A second cat had also come up. They would gather up our gear and bring it down. The driver wanted to get Lisa back down to the ski area as quickly as possible and didn't want to waste any time.
 
Before we knew it we were inside a ski patrol hut and they were moving Lisa onto a bed. Sancho and I stayed with her to try and reassure her as a crowd of people started working on her. Everyone was wonderful and before long Lisa had blankets and hot water bottles all around her and she started to warm up. It was around 3 PM that the Fire Department crew arrived with the ambulance from Bellingham. We saw Lisa safely into the ambulance and then gathered up our gear.
 
What a Miracle! I called Lisa at the hospital a few days later and she was doing well. So glad that she made it!  I told her Adam and his friend had been the real heroes that saved her life. Beth, Wade, Sancho and I were just happy that we could be of some help with the rescue. It's a day I won't forget.