The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Lesson number one: Don’t cut the ropes
A powder day adventure turned into a real adventure for an 18-year-old snowboarder who ducked a rope at the ski area last Saturday, February 26.
The Gunnison man was apparently trying to take a shortcut between ski lifts when he ended up below the lifts on the East River side of the mountain. As he tried to climb up the hill, he set off a small avalanche that carried him farther down the slope. He decided to hike down to the valley floor, where he crossed the river twice and spent some time post-holing in the deep snow looking for an exit route.
Wet and cold and with daylight fading, he decided to dig a snow cave and wait. Rumors of disturbing a small bear from hibernation and being chased by the bruin could not be confirmed.
Knowing there are no friends on a powder day, he wasn’t missed until he didn’t show up to meet his buddies and take the RTA bus back to Gunnison. That’s when his friends called Mt. Crested Butte police and the officers in turn notified the ski area.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort ski patrol (including an avalanche dog), snowcat drivers and mountain operations teams went into action. Crested Butte Search and Rescue was called and the police in Gunnison were sent to check the man’s residence.
“We are proud of the coordinated effort to find and rescue the snowboarder who cut the ski area boundary rope last Saturday and became lost in the backcountry surrounding Crested Butte Mountain Resort,” said Ken Stone, Chief Operating Officer of CBMR. “The work from our own crews – ski patrol and mountain operations, specifically our snowcat operators – as well as assistance from local law enforcement led to a discovery and rescue. This is the best case scenario in this type of situation and we applaud this group of professionals for their dedication.”
As it turned out, a snowcat operator working the mountain spotted the lost boarder about 8 p.m. and the snowcat was sent toward the valley floor to pick him up. That set off a 600-foot-long avalanche. No one was hurt in the rescue operation.
Charges haven’t yet been formally filed but it is expected the Gunnison boarder will end up before a judge…which is better than the alternative.
