WHITE PASS, Wash. — An experienced skier was rescued after falling eight feet into a hole when the snow collapsed beneath him at White Pass last week.
“Definitely turned into a real Friday the 13th,” says Tony Christensen, who had been skiing with his son-in-law last week.
Christensen was skiing in-bounds, headed from one run to another, and following tracks from other skiers, when the snow gave way.
“We were just traversing across over to another run when all of a sudden the snow just collapsed where I was skiing,” Christensen said. “And so, the scary thing was that I fell backward.”
Christensen dropped into a dark, eight-foot-deep void where he could hear water running from a creek that ended up soaking him.
While trapped, Christensen used a technique he had recently taught his family to survive tree well accidents. He placed his arms in front of his face “just to try to create some room because I just didn’t know how much snow was going collapse.”
Christensen’s son-in-law was nearby but could not safely reach him for fear of causing further collapses.
Help arrived after witnesses on the chairlift directly above spotted him. “They were screaming, asking if we needed help and we said ‘yes’,” Christensen said regarding the skiers on the lift above. While waiting for help, Christensen braced himself against a log to prevent further sliding.
White Pass ski patrol arrived approximately 20 minutes later and successfully pulled him from the hole. Christensen noted that the lack of a firm, established snowpack prior to recent heavy snowfall may have contributed to the ground’s instability.
Recent data from the National Weather Service highlights the rapid changes in mountain conditions. At Alpental, the snowpack dropped nearly two feet within a 48-hour period from Monday to Wednesday this week. While Snoqualmie, Crystal and Stevens Pass each reported a snowpack decrease of approximately one foot during the same timeframe.
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