A woman is lucky to be alive after being buried for 15 to 20 minutes in an avalanche in North Vanvouver’s Mt. Seymour backcountry this weekend.
On Sunday, she was snowshoeing with a companion on the south face of Pump Peak when an avalanche happened.
The man was knocked off his feet and partially buried but he was able to dig himself out with his hands.
He called out for his companion but didn’t hear any reply. North Shore Rescue said the man then called 911 and was then able to speak with a search and rescue manager.
He was advised to start searching for debris and found a snowshoe poking out of the snowpack. North Shore Rescue said the man was then able to find and uncover his companion, who had been buried upside down for between 15 to 20 minutes.
She had a lower state of responsiveness, was cyanotic, and was quite hypothermic, but when she was uncovered, she was responsive, the rescue organization said in its update.
North Shore Rescue said it first received a notice of the incident through a Code Alpha, which means an avalanche with burial.
“This is our highest priority call, bar none,” the organization said in the Facebook post.
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Immediately, the search and rescue organization staged a helicopter rescue team, including an emergency physician, at the Bone Creek heli base, while the remaining members raced to the Mt. Seymour parking lot.
After consulting an avalanche forecaster, a dog team was notified and began to respond from Whistler.
The teams were able to reach the duo, provide medical care and warmth and pull the woman out on a rescue sled.
North Shore Search and Rescue said these two did not have avalanche training and did not carry any avalanche rescue gear.
“We cannot state strongly enough how lucky they were that the first individual was able to spot the 2nd and dig her out,” the organization said. “Had this not happened, we would be looking at a very different result. A successful rescue after a 15-20+ minute burial is increasingly doubtful.”
The avalanche danger on the North Shore was rated high, which means it is very dangerous and natural avalanches, which can be triggered by humans, are likely.
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