Backcountry
Bellingham Mountain Rescue, a prominent rescue group out of the Whatcom Country Area of Washington State, had their hands full at the start of the new year with a rescue of a backcountry snowboarder who had fallen into a drainage area in the Swift Creek Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. This area is specifically dangerous in the Mount Baker wilderness due to the frozen waterfalls that can easily cause unstable snow conditions and an increased risk of falling as a result of natural obstacles. After the report was filed, a full-fledged rescue attempt from multiple organizations such as the U.S. Customs and Border and the Bellingham Mountain Rescue began to assist in the rescue of the trapped snowboarder.
The 37-year-old male was originally reported missing on the afternoon of January 1 after he got trapped in a frozen waterfall. U.S Customs and Border provided additional resources by providing a helicopter to drop resources on the stranded snowboarder until the rescue group reached him. These resources such as a radio and food allowed him to endure his extended stay in the Washington backcountry. The snowboarder had stated that he was ok staying the night in his current conditions with additional resources which led to the delayed response from the response crew.
The rescue attempt was started on foot by 5 p.m. on January 2 by Bellingham Mountain Rescue. By 10 p.m., 30 hours after the initial report, BMR successfully extracted the snowboarder with no known injuries. When rescuing him, ropes and other safety measures were required due to the adverse conditions and risk of falling. This rescue required vigilance from both the rescue crew and the snowboarder to make sure everyone stayed safe in a dangerous backcountry scenario such as this one. The name of the snowboarder was not released to the general public.
