22-02-2025
Stuck, injured snowmobilers rescued after avalanche on Mt. St. Helens
PORTLAND, Ore. () — After an avalanche on Mt. St. Helens left one snowmobiler stuck and another injured, a fellow snowmobiler managed to aid them before calling in a rescue group on Monday.
'Just before 2 PM, three snowmobilers were riding above tree line when two of their machines got stuck in deep snow,' according to a by .
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Fog reduced visibility while they were trying to get free, after which an avalanche was triggered on their ride out, the rescue group said.
'As they were accelerating out of being stuck, both riders accidentally drove off a cornice into Shoestring Gully , free-falling 20-30 feet into a 100′ deep canyon,' Volcano Rescue Team added. 'The first rider's impact triggered an avalanche which propagated over 100 yards across the gully.'
One of the riders got stuck in snow and another fell hard onto a snowpack and couldn't move due to a leg injury. The third snowmobiler then arrived, freed the buried rider and tended to the person with the injured leg 'before riding to a location with cell service to call for help.'
A rescue effort coordinated by the Skamania County Sheriff's Office commenced, then Volcano Rescue Team responded.
'Rescuers packaged the injured rider, utilized a rope system to lower him to the gully floor and transported him via a snowmobile sled to Marble Mountain Sno-Park, where North Country EMS was waiting to take him to the hospital,' the rescue group said.
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A spokesperson for Volcano Rescue Team said that on the day of the accident, the avalanche risk was rated as 'considerable,' illustrating the dangers of backcountry snowmobiling in poor visibility.
'We're grateful for a positive outcome but urge users to obtain avalanche training, carry avalanche rescue gear, check conditions before going out, and make informed decisions in the field,' the spokesperson said.
Volcano Rescue Team is all-volunteer and was formed in 1986, according to its website.
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