OCR Text |
Show of snow, and had been found one hour and forty- five minutes after he was caught. Mouth to mouth resuscitation was started immediately, but with no response. His eyes would not focus, and no pulse could be detected. Because only a small portion of the avalanche area had slid, and because it began snowing hard, it was decided to evacuate the area before a second avalanche released, trapping the rescuers. R. D. was loaded on a toboggan, and moved to safety. As the rescuers were leaving, another small avalanche was released, but caught no one. Artificial respiration was given continuously until 1640 hours when a doctor arrived and pronounced the victim dead. AVALANCHE DATA Avalanche hazard was high. Investigation of the site the next morning revealed about two feet of depth hoar on the bottom of the snow pack. The fracture line varied from one to two feet in depth. On 12 February, a seven foot slab had been shot off the " Roll," one of the ski runs at the Berthoud ski area. Slides occu d in numerous places along the continental divide on the 12th, 13th, and 14th. On Monday, 15 February, the state highway gun crew shot the Floral Park slide with a 75mm howitzer. The entire slope avalanched leaving a fracture line one- half mile long, and closed the highway for three hours. The area where R. D.' s body was located was covered with eight feet of snow. Both of the victim's skis came off. One was on the surface about five feet above the victim and the other was under the snow near him. His poles were not found. Of the 19 volunteer ski patrolmen who participated in the rescue, 13 had received avalanche training. The probe line was well organized and worked efficiently. Those who hit the victim with their probes stated they were sure it was a body and not a false clue. COMMENTS One of the most important aspects of questioning a witness is determining the accident location as accurately as possible. Entry to the accident scene from below would have been safer and faster. 55 |