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WBR Callout 1.21.2010
On 1.21.2010 Wasatch Backcountry Rescue was activated by the Salt Lake County Sherriff’s office to rescue a skier who was caught in a slide and subsequently injured off Cardiff Peak in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The first report occurred at 1313 and the rescue was concluded with the rescue team back at Alta at 1610.
Two skiers were climbing the east ridge of Cardiff Peak from Cardiff Pass. One skier stopped to put on a jacket but it was taken from his hands in the wind and deposited on the steep north facing slope below them. The skier ventured onto the slope to retrieve the jacket and triggered an avalanche which carried him over the cliffs below and into Cardiff Fork in Big Cottonwood. A Utah Department Of Transportation Avalanche Forecaster was nearby and responded, after skinning up to Cardiff Pass from the Little Cottonwood Side. The UDOT forecaster skied down to the victim and began an assessment.
An off duty Snowbird Ski Patroller who was ski touring nearby, arrived on scene after she received a phone call alerting her of the accident. The patient was on the surface of the avalanche debris and had a friend with him that informed the team that no one else had been involved in the slide. The patient had traumatic injuries to his back, pelvis, and leg. The team at the scene requested medical gear and two additional rescuers be brought by helicopter if the pilot felt the weather conditions allowed.
Two Alta Ski Patrollers were flown to the scene by AirMed with medical gear from the staging LZ at Alta ski resort. A second team of two Snowbird Patrollers staged at the LZ in case additional resources were needed. After delivering the first team to the rescue LZ, the AirMed helicopter left the scene while the rescue team placed patient on oxygen and placed him on a backboard and packaged him for transport. The patient was transported 200’ to the landing zone in a portable toboggan. The team packed down the snow in the landing zone for the ship and lit a smoke flare to help the pilot gauge the winds and see the landing. The helicopter then returned and the team assisted the Airmed crew in loading the patient into the ship. The patient was flown to University Hospital and the four rescuers and the friend of the injured person skinned back to Cardiff Pass and descended to the Town of Alta
WBR wants to thank Alta Ski Patrol, Snowbird Ski Patrol, Utah Department of Transportation, University of Utah AirMed, and the Salt Lake County Sherriff’s Office for their efforts in making this backcountry rescue as safe and successful as they come. The level of professionalism exhibited in the cooperation of these agencies is clear evidence that WBR is the premier backcountry rescue organization in the United States. As quoted by the rescue site commander concerning the team “Really strong, really good with the rescue gear, really safe in the situation.”
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