Industry News
A skier identified as Dominick Torro of Bow, New Hampshire, was skiing down “Airplane Gully” in the Great Gulf on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, with a friend when the duo triggered an avalanche on Saturday, December 9, 2023, around 11:35 a.m. According to a press release by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division, Torro suffered a life-threatening lower-leg injury while his friend was unhurt. Torro’s friend and another unrelated skier gave aid to Torro and called 911 for assistance. While the 911 call worked its way through the proper channels, the 911 call operator provided assistance over the phone, enabling the two skiers to provide life-saving measures to Torro. At one stage a highly experienced back-country paramedic had to be added to the call to stabilize the 30-year-old injured skier.
It was ultimately a joint effort by several departments that faciliated the rescue. US Forest Service Snow Rangers together with the Conservation Officer and the National Guard Helicopter mobilized the Mountain Rescue Service (‘MRS’) personnel and equipment, including the National Guard Helicopter. Personnel from the Mount Washington State Parks and Mount Washington Auto Road coordinated the ground effort in getting a “SnoCat” ready to transport the MRS team up the Auto Road to the summit where they would trek over the ridge and rescue the skier if the Helicopter could not.
While waiting for the National Guard Helicopter to arrive, the skiers shoveled out an area on the side slope so that the paramedic and litter that would be lowered down from the National Guard Helicopter would have enough space to load Torro and hoist him into the helicopter while it hovered above.
As the MRS Team loaded into the NH State Parks SnoCat, the National Guard Helicopter was also taking off from Concord. The MRS team continued their assent up the Auto Road as a precautionary measure and was thankfully not needed.
At 3:19 p.m., the National Guard helicopter crew located Torro and lowered down a medic and litter to his location. They then flew off for a short time in order to have Torro assessed and loaded into the litter. When the medic was ready, the helicopter crew flew back over the top of them and hoisted Torro and then the medic into the helicopter at 3:55 p.m. Torro was flown from the incident location to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon NH for treatment of his injuries. The two skiers who gave aid decided to hike out and ski down on their own.
This case shows how important it is to never venture out alone, no matter how experienced you are. Without the help of his friend and the other skier, Torro may have not survived the injuries from the avalanche. Dominick Torro is an experienced skier and mountaineer and holds AIARE Avalanche Level 1, AIARE Avalanche Level 2, Avy Rescue, USSA Alpine Race Coach, and AIARE Pro 1 certifications.
Dominic Torro shared two videos of his experience on his Instagram account. He has a POV video as well as footage from his friend’s headcam, so it gives a very detailed insight into the avalanche accident. Viewers discretion is advised, as there is footage of his injury with a lot of blood.
