OCR Text |
Show avalanche conditions, this slope was closed to skiing, and was adequately posted. As the couple approached a steep slope, Dr. B. apparently sensed the danger in the area and climbed above it. His wife skied across the slope and was caught in a sixty- foot- wide snowslide. Carried nearly one hundred and fifty feet down the hill, she was completely buried when the slide finally stopped. After calling to the top ski lift for help, her husband began searching in the debris. RESCUE From the top lift, the call for help was relayed to the lower lift and then to Woodhaus Lodge. Several members of the Solitude Ski Patrol appeared on the scene within minutes after the accident. At Woodhaus Lodge, the Ski Shop owner made an announcement on the public address system, requesting all available ski instructors and Ski Patrol members to assemble at the avalanche cache. Forest Service personnel were then notified of the accident. One forester left immediately to make avalanche cache equipment available to the men, who were rapidly assembling. Additional Forest Service officials were quickly notified of the accident. Back in the slide area, the first Ski Patrol members to arrive on the scene discovered blood on the snow, and a few minutes later, they found Mrs. B. The blood had come from a cut under the woman's eye. She had been buried for 20- 30 minutes. At 5: 05 p. m. the Solitude lift phoned Woodhaus that the skier had been found alive and that no additional help was needed. Rescue operations were then halted. After treatment for shock and first aid for her cut, Mrs. B. came off the mountain on foot and by snow- cat by 7: 45 p. m. AVALANCHE DATA This was a small avalanche, carrying the victim only 150 feet. Probably a soft slab, it would be coded SS- AS- 2. COMMENTS The philosophy " it will never happen to me" has been proved wrong far too many times. A violation of a closure, a skier completely buried - these are two favorable ingredients for the recipe of death. The bloody snow led to a quick recovery and survival. 53 |