Snowboarder James William Martin, 21, spent three nights out in the snow near British Columbia’s Mount Seymour before finally being rescued by helicopter at 2:30 PM on December 31, 2008, according to a story from UPI.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said searchers discovered James William Martin about 2:30 p.m. in an area of Mount Seymour known as Suicide Creek and used a basket dropped from a helicopter to airlift him out, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. . . Martin only slept for two hours during his three-day ordeal, said his cousin, Mitchell Powell, in an email to the Vancouver Sun. . . When two searchers approached him, he was coherent and managed to say: “I’m cold,” according to Powell. . . . He’s going to VGH because it looks like he’s got some pretty serious frostbite on his hands,” said search manager George Zilahi in an interview with the Vancouver Sun.
Martin has the rescue crew to thank for his survival. Crews reported that his tracks were leading all over the place. One more reason not to ride alone in an unfamiliar area.
[Links: UPI and The Vancouver Sun]
