Thread: snowboarder spends two nights outdoors near big sky

sounds like this guy was kind of stupid (ducked ropes to go ob alone) but well prepared and lucky it wasnt -20.

http://dailychronicle.com/articles/2...nowboarder.txt

Rescued snowboarder describes two nights lost in mountains

By TED SULLIVAN Chronicle Staff Writer

When he awakened in his shelter made of tree branches and snow, Beryl Jay Weinshenker walked to stay warm.

"Probably the thing that saved me that night, when I woke up shivering, was I got up and started moving," the 27-year-old Bozeman snowboarder said Tuesday as he lay in his apartment, wearing red long johns and shorts.

Weinshenker, a Montana State University student and contractor from Boston, was lost in the terrain around Lone Mountain from Saturday afternoon until Monday morning.

He survived two nights in snowstorms and frigid winds wearing just a few layers of clothing, eating honey-roasted peanuts and sipping a CamelBak pouch of tea. Weinshenker hardly slept as 10 inches of snow fell that weekend.

He sparked two fires with a lighter in his pocket and some old, scraggly wood he found on a mountainside. He burned the fire on his avalanche shovel.

His clothes included two pairs of socks and snowboarding boots, long underwear, a short-sleeved shirt, long-sleeved shirt, fleece vest, Gore-Tex bibs, gloves and a winter hat.

"What I learned was good clothes and good layers will really save your life," Weinshenker said, scratching his thick beard.

His gear included his shovel, backpack, first-aid kit and a cell phone.

He placed five 911 calls in two days, reaching dispatch for just a moment before losing his connection. His phone's battery eventually died, although he was able to provide rescuers with bits of information about his whereabouts.

Weinshenker's journey began Saturday when he got off the tram at Big Sky Ski Resort. He left the resort's boundaries down a familiar backcountry bowl and soon realized he was lost. He attempted to hike back toward the resort and what appeared to be a logging road.

He struggled in waist-deep powder.

It soon became dark, he lost his path and the logging road was no longer in sight. The weather then took a turn for the worse, blowing snow and wind.

On Saturday night, Weinshenker slept beneath the limbs of a sprawled pine tree. He built a short wall of snow around one side of his body to protect him.

"I was pretty exposed," he said.

On Sunday morning, the weather was clear and sunny, the sky blue. He thought he saw Lone Mountain, although it may have been Fan Mountain.

"I really didn't know where I was," he said.

He heard search helicopters buzzing around him. He began hiking toward a peak, where he thought he saw the resort's tram box and chairlifts in the distance. He figured he needed to make himself more visible.

Weinshenker saw a helicopter above him, waved his snowboard in the air, but no one saw him.

Soon, it was dark again.

He decided it was time to build a shelter. He dug a deep hole in the snow, covered it with tree limbs and packed powder.

"That pretty much got me through the night," he said. "The stars were frickin' awesome."

On Monday morning, Weinshenker was able to gather wood and spark a campfire with his lighter. He had paper in his backpack.

He eventually hiked to a more visible mountaintop and built a fire there. His hope was the smoke and flames would help the search-and-rescue teams find him. He also flailed his arms and hunter's cap.

At 10:40 a.m., a search-and-rescue team spotted him four miles northwest of Lone Mountain.

"He's fortunate to have survived," Madison County Sheriff Dave Schenk said. "We did what we had to do to save his life. That's our primary goal."

A helicopter air lifted Weinshenker to the Big Sky Meadow Fire Station. He suffered no injuries or medical complications. His only ailment was swollen feet.

Weinshenker was lucky he had a phone, lighter and solid gear, Schenk said. His biggest mistake was snowboarding alone in extreme terrain and not telling anyone where he was.

"Hopefully other people won't put themselves into that situation like I did," Weinshenker said. "I put myself in a dumb situation."

Weinshenker jumped two ropes and ignored signs warning him not to go down that side of Lone Mountain, Big Sky Ski Patrol Director Bob Dixon said. His privileges to ski at the resort could be suspended for breaking the rules.

Weinshenker credited multiple agencies from Big Sky, West Yellowstone, Madison and Gallatin counties for finding him. He plans to write his rescuers a letter and bake them pies.

The article doesn't mention how much acid he dropped.

I think he took acid AND shrooms.

What did he learn? Snowboards make for mediocre travel in the BC.

Cut the guy some slack--he's going to bake his rescuers some pies!

"the stars were frickin awesome"



BWAHAHA

How could the stars have been so awsome if it was snowing and windy?

You've obviously never dropped acid.

Wow, what a bone head. How you mix up Fan Mtn and Lone Peak is beyond me.

Also, why the hell would you have a fire on your shovel? I could see starting it on there and then putting it on the snow once it's ripping, then build a huge fucking bonfire.

Another lesson learned....baking pies will also get you lost.

Originally Posted by A-wreck

How could the stars have been so awsome if it was snowing and windy?

Originally Posted by Rootskier

You've obviously never dropped acid.

BWAHAHA...I'm dying over here!

Originally Posted by RootSkier

"the stars were frickin awesome"

And that was the second night, AFTER the acid wore off.

Seems the guy was minimally prepared and kept his cool after making some bad choices. Glad he's safe.

he was from boston.

4 miles? come on, it wouldn't take two days and nights to posthole that far, why didn't he just hike out?

its pretty easy to armchair quarterback. he had fan and lone peak mixed up, he may not have known which way to go or how far to go for his four mile post hole. rather than concentrating on getting out, he seemed to be concentrating on getting back. my first rule of getting unlost, civilization is down stream. he probably could have just continued on down whatever drainage he was in and gotten to ennis much easier than postholing back up lone peak.

overall i agree with truth though, he made some big mistakes but survived it by staying calm and positive.

the comments about the stars and baking pies cracked me up. and about the snow and stars, he spent two nights out, sunday and monday. sunday was the night it snowed, monday was clear.

one word: SPLITBOARD!!

Who pays the tab for the rescue?

Like Fez said, you would think that he is familiar enough with that area that he would have known he could have walked out to Ennis. At least he was level headed with other decisions.

I heard some SAR chatter on a patrolers radio in the tram when I was at BS on Sunday, now I know what they were up too....

Originally Posted by Magnoe

Who pays the tab for the rescue?

they're getting pie, dude!

Originally Posted by Ripzalot

he was from boston.

Hey, if you can navigate around Beaner w/o getting lost, finding your way around anywhere else should be cake (or pie as the case may be).

At least CamelBak got a product mention. (always looking through the marketing window)

Haven't seen many snowboarders wearing "hunting hats." So much for ten mile orange.

Pies for everybody!!

hahaha... the headline is A Lost Soul... I didn't think the paper was pro-skier.

He also had matches and paper...

No, he's from Boston , he's a contractor, and he snowboards.