Latest news with #VolcanoRescueTeam
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Snowmobiler plunges into deep canyon and triggers avalanche, Washington rescuers say
A snowmobiler plunged into a deep canyon, triggering an avalanche on a Washington mountain, rescuers said. The snowmobiler was riding with other people on Feb. 17 when two of them got stuck in deep snow on Mount Saint Helens, rescuers said. They decided to go home once freeing themselves because it started getting foggy on the mountain, the Volcano Rescue Team said in a Feb. 21 Facebook post. The two riders then accidentally drove off a cornice, an overhanging piece of snow, and plunged 20 to 30 feet into a deep canyon, the rescue team said. Rescuers said the first rider went over the ledge and triggered an avalanche that traveled 300 feet down the mountain. He wasn't able to deploy his avalanche airbag, but he 'used a swimming motion with his arms to stay near the surface' of the debris, rescuers said. This rider ended up pinned to his snowmobile. The second snowmobiler followed over the ledge and hit hard snowpack, causing significant injuries to his leg, rescuers said. The third snowmobiler dug out the rider caught in the avalanche and helped the injured rider before calling for help, rescuers said. A team responded to the mountain and used a rope system to get the snowmobiler with the injured leg down the gully so he could get to a hospital. The avalanche risk that day was ranked as 'considerable,' or level three out of five, the rescue team said. At this level, 'avalanche conditions are considered dangerous and careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding, and conservative decision making are essential,' according to Mount Saint Helens is in Skamania County in southwest Washington. Avalanche buries and kills backcountry snowboarder, Colorado officials say Ski patroller swept away by avalanche dies of her injuries, California resort says Friends search for overdue 'expert' skiers and find bodies buried in Oregon avalanche
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
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 . Charges dismissed against Portland State protesters 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. Wyden concerned over DOGE access to Social Security 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
