Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Skier Rescued from Avalanche near Alta, Utah

An avalanche that was caught on video dragged a backcountry skier into a Utah ravine and buried her in snow, but the woman survived because she deployed a special air bag and other skiers were able to quickly dig her out, witnesses said Tuesday.
Joe Campanelli was using his iPhone to record the sun-splayed Wasatch mountains Monday when the skier descended into a steep gully filled with loose snow in Grizzly Gulch, a short distance from the Alta ski area east of Salt Lake City.
"That is not a good slope to ski," Campanelli says while recording. Moments later, the slope breaks, and he says, "You're in a slide, bud!"
 
http://www.weather.com/sports-rec/ski-conditions/skier-rescued-utah-avalanche-20131210Campanelli abruptly stopped recording to help rescue the skier. His friend, Aaron Rice, told The Associated Press he used an avalanche beacon and a probe to find her location, then shoveled her out with help from others. She was buried in several feet of snow.
"She was breathing, talking," Rice said Tuesday. "She said, 'Thank you. I can't believe you got here so quickly.' She was completely shaken up."
The woman was swept about 100 feet down the gully at an angle approaching 40 degrees, according to a report on the Utah Avalanche Center's website. It happened in an area where ski patrol members don't do any avalanche control work, such as triggering slides before they can occur naturally and hurt someone.
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