Last night three snowboarders triggered an avalanche just before dusk on February 27, 2009 in the Central Kootenays of B.C. Canada, south of Nelson, according to a story in The Province. All are lucky to be alive.
The trio were swept up and carried an estimated 150 metres before coming to a rest. One of them had his snowboard snapped in half and ended up caught in a tree. . . . Professional ski guide Patric Maloney immediately hopped on the chopper, setting out with his wife, Mariah Grant, colleague Shawn West and pilot Ben White.. . “He was cut up pretty bad,” said Maloney of the injured snowboarder. “Our initial assessment was he had a broken leg, broken pelvis and internal injuries.”
Because the terrain was too dangerous for the helicopter to land, it reportedly took the rescuers four hours to get the snowboarder to an ambulance and a helicopter ride to Vancouver General Hospital.
[Link: The Province]
