A snowboarder buried in an avalanche at Seagram Lake was rescued by his friend and other parties of backcountry tourers Feb. 4.
Nils Robinson was the manager on duty for Squamish Search and Rescue (SAR), and he told Pique what he learned about the situation from the RCMP, Emergency Health Services (EHS) and SAR members.
“SAR received a call from the RCMP about an iPhone SOS activation. That’s all we had at the time," he said. "We investigated and determined there were two SOS activations in the area and we deployed members to Squamish’s airport and SAR’s compound. We didn’t know anything about the situation’s specifics, but we assumed there was either a medical incident or an avalanche.”
While SAR members were awaiting a helicopter from Pemberton to arrive and take them to Seagram Lake, they received a call from Emergency Health Services that a male snowboarder was buried in an avalanche and was dug out. The snowboarder was fully immersed for 15 to 20 minutes and buried a metre down. He was conscious, with decreased cognitive function and low oxygen levels.
“The subject and his friend decided he was well enough to sled out and we were not required,” Nils said. “However, in talking to EHS, we decided to keep going. Anyone who has been buried that long, we have a duty of care to ensure we do everything.”
A Level 2 avalanche professional and two other experienced SAR members flew to Seagram Lake, and while they didn’t find the subject who was buried, they found other tourers and took photos of the slide while doing a snow stability assessment, Robinson said.
“If the injured party or their friend wants to reach out to us, we’d love to get more details about what they saw. They can contact us through our website or Instagram,” Robinson said.
The slide itself wasn’t large, with Robinson estimating the avalanche was 1.5 in size, but the location created conditions for burial.
“Given the topography of a steep chute to Seagram Lake, there was an abrupt stop at the bottom which stopped the slide and built it up instead of fanning out with a less angulated location,” he said.
Squamish SAR wants to remind people that any time someone contacts emergency services through dialling 911, or using an InReach or iPhone SOS, emergency services will continue to try and communicate with them through the device to understand the situation. Another party who was in the vicinity provided details through iPhone satellite texting.
“There is always some time between an SOS call-out and team mobilization. It goes through a number of steps in the process before it gets to us. There are also delays due to weather and aircraft," Robinson said. "People should be prepared for self-rescue and know the tools they have. Since these guys dug him out in these conditions, they had the skills and tools to use them."
Other advice Robinson provided was to read avalanche advisories, understand terrain, carry the essentials of a shovel, probe and transceiver and don’t hesitate to call SAR.
“The sooner you call, the better chances we have to get there, especially at this time of year when it gets dark early.”
