Seattle skier rescued after falling 160 feet down crevasse

[RustyK]

Not MtnMan....

Nice video

http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-seattle ... 6742.story


WHISTLER/BLACKCOMB, BRITISH COLUMBIA—

A Seattle Skier plunged 160 feet into a hole on Canada's Decker Mountain and survived. Search and rescue teams helped pull him out of the crevasse. Incredibly, he was pulled out without a scratch.

It happened in the back country ski area just northeast of Blackcomb.

It’s an area of pristine snow, but danger lies beneath it.

The skier, Nikolai Popov, of Seattle, found himself trapped inside a 50-meter deep crevasse, but it wasn't that big when he fell into it.

"I saw that there was a little crack and I started probing with a pole to see where the crevasse is, and just as I was doing that, the whole thing collapsed under me and I found myself in a very nasty hole, actually it was quite deep,” Popov said.

"The snow was soft and quite warm out there. Probably a nice day of ski touring for him,” said rescuer Daren Romano. “Unfortunately he fell into a crevasse."

Popov was lucky.

Someone was skiing ahead of him and noticed he had disappeared. Neither of them had a cell phone, so Popov was alone in the crevasse for two hours before help arrived.

"Falling into a crevasse can be cold,” says Popov. “But it was warm enough. I knew that this guy would call search and rescue."

Search and rescue crews flew to the area and landed a safe distance away. Rescuers hiked towards the crevasse.

They had to be careful and test the stability of the snow as they approached the edge.

They used a rope and pulley system to hoist Popov out. It turns out he didn't fall all the way down the crevasse.

"The hole itself treated me better than it could have because there was another 20 meters down I could have gotten stuck there."

Rescuers consider Popov lucky since he wasn't hurt by the fall. But he wasn't prepared for skiing in such a remote area.

"I wouldn't recommend touring alone, be prepared for self-rescue if you're going with a party. Take some ropes with you."

Popov was also fortunate the conditions were ideal for a successful rescue.

The entire operation was over within two and a half hours

[Mtn Man]

Hehe, I skied with that guy a couple years ago, nice guy! News had it wrong, it was 30ft and he was there for 3 hours. He was quite calm through the whole thing, even took pictures inside! The TR is here:

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopi ... c&start=30

B)

[RustyK]

Thanks,,,this pretty much says it all...

[Stormchaser]

Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!

[buckethead]

yikes, even at 30ft/3hrs, quite the ordeal!

it was, fortunately, light in there. i always imagine these falls to be into a dark, wet chasm.

glad his story's ending was a happy one.

props to heads-up skiing by the strangers ahead of him on the descent, and of course to SAR!