At 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, February 26th the text message arrived saying ground pounders were needed for a missing backcountry skier and an extraction was a possibility. Ten of us arrived at incident base and learned that the subject’s friend and our subject had been snowboarding together when they decided to take different runs and meet up later. The friend never showed. The ten of us were split up into three teams and each team was assigned a ski run to search. The weather started out at 40 degrees, calm and sunny. Halfway through our mission it was obvious that was going to change.
During the mission we saw a spot of red sticking out from behind a tree and given the subject was wearing a red shirt we thought we had a find. However, it was just flagging. At another point we saw what looked like a glove in a tree. But, alas, it was just a piece of aspen bark. Eventually one of the teams discovered snowboard tracks that left the ski run and went into the woods. Following the tracks led us to our subject. For training purposes, the “subject” was a red shirt and brown pants laid in a snow pit with instructions that one of us was to take the shirt and pants place so the rest of the team could experience loading a real person into a sled and dragging them out. I became the subject. I was to have a broken left leg and symptoms of approaching severe hypothermia. Instead of attempting to lift the subject out of the snow hole one of our team used his snowshoe to dig down on one side allowing the sled to be lowered to the subjects level. The team worked together to lift the subject into the sled and create a hypothermia wrap around the subject using team sleeping bags and pads.
By the time the team had moved the subject out of the trees and down to flatter ground the fast-moving storm had rolled in. Temperatures dropped to below freezing and snow was blowing sideways with a long stretch back to Incident Base and an awaiting ambulance. Ok, there wasn’t an ambulance because this was a training exercise but in real life there would have been.
I was plenty warm in the hypothermia wrap. I was surprised at how flexible the sled is. The Cascade Rescue Litter setup for snow travel looks very solid but I could feel in flexing as we moved. Nothing bad or uncomfortable just surprising.
Everyone was happy to be back at Incident Base as the storm was getting worse. The weather was a good addition to the training because it tested members gear and introduced our newer members/trainees to the fact that we need to be able to take care of ourselves AND a patient in all kinds of weather conditions both day and night.
In hindsight, we should have posed for a group photo but here is at least some of the team. Lessons learned include adding more padding underneath the subject’s legs, small of the back and neck. Hauling the litter tires out the hands and arms quickly. We should try attaching webbing the next time so we can wrap it around shoulders and chest for pulling. Our Wilderness First Responder did a great job of patient assessment and treatment but felt some more practice would be good so that it becomes more second nature. Given the nature of our volunteer team, unless you run with an ambulance service or ski patrol you don’t get to practice emergency medical care very often.
We also cannot forget the incident base staff which consisted of the two Incident Commanders that are members of the Brigade. They had a chance to test out Starlink Internet connectivity, mapping and other aspects of running a mission. Great job Incident Command! During our debriefing everyone agreed it was great session and a little more intense than expected. Thanks everyone!