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Missing skier in avalanche area
By Jim
Fairchild
RMRU received
a call for assistance from Sierra Madre Mountain
Rescue Team regarding a skier from Mammoth Lakes
missing from the Mt. Waterman Ski Lift area.
Four of us were able to respond, Ray
Hussey, Cameron Robbins, Craig Beasley, and the
writer.
After a slow
drive along icy roads north of Los Angeles, in
Ray's roomy Suburban, we arrived at base camp, at
the bottom of the ski lift. The scenario was that
the skier had been descending with his partner
near the lift, and simply disappeared into the
storm clouds. The ski patrol had crisscrossed the
area during the night and found no trace.
Upon being
transported up the chair-lift we donned snowshoes
and were handed twelve-foot-long conduit rods. We
were to probe the snow for a body. We snowshoed
over and down to the fall-line in question, and
proceeded, upon command at regular intervals, to
"probe, lift, step, probe, lift, step."
As we searched the word came over our HandiTalkie
that the skier had returned to base camp, in good
shape. Jubilant, we hurried down in a great
sliding snowshoe romp. He had indeed become
disoriented and descended the canyon mentioned
above, spent a cold night far below, then
ascended back to base. Enough said.
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