Happy to report Geoff Gulevich aka Gully is on the road to recovery after breaking his femur in an avalanche in the BC backcountry. 36-year-old Gully triggered the avalanche which propelled him into a tree. He suffered a broken femur in the impact and was unable to make contact with his group. With adrenaline surging through his system, Gully dug himself out of a waist deep burial and dragged himself down the final 150 feet of the slope and was able to able to hail his friends. He was airlifted from the scene and spent 6 days in the hospital. Read his full account of the incident below:
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Couple weeks ago I had a really close call. Skiing with two experienced and knowledgeable friends in a very familiar zone… I had my skis swept out from under me due to my own slough. It triggered a small slide that tossed me a tree.
With things settled, I tried calling for my group but was met with silence.
I dug myself out of a waist deep burial to find that my right femur was broken and my leg was completely sideways. Realizing that this had now escalated from a close call to an actual emergency, I scanned my surroundings and thought about my options.
I knew it would take too long for my crew to realize something was wrong and then I wasn’t sure they would be able to get to me. With adrenaline flowing, I straightened out my leg, got my left ski off and decided to slide my body down the remaining slope to get down and make contact. I slid myself down the final 150 feet of steep slope to the flat bottom, where I was able to make verbal contact.
My team called North Shore Rescue while I crawled away from the avy zone and was able to straighten my leg again, build an elevated snow block for my leg and then cover it in snow to prevent the swelling from getting too bad, while we waited for the helicopter. My crew was able to finally get to me to keep me warm while we waited 3 hours for helicopter rescue, due to clouds. The NSR team was quick, on point and awesome to work with. I was heli’d out and taken to Lions Gate Hospital where I would spend the next 6 days. But I’m on my way back!