Incline Village, Nevada- On March 14th, a skier had a close call on the backside of Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe.
The woman skier went through the Manzanita Bowl gate and skied through what is referred to as the “point of no return.” As implied, you can’t get back to Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe if you ski through this. Skiers then face a harrowing trip through steep avalanche backcountry terrain. It should be noted that this is an error that many people commit. The Washoe County Hasty Team’s Backcountry Rescue Unit was notified that the skier needed assistance.
The rescue operation began with the Hasty Team taking the Zephyr Express chairlift and accessing the Bowl through the Washoe Zephyr trail. The Incident Management Team determined the woman’s location, as they were able to track her cell phone’s GPS. The Hasty Team got to her while skiing through a “steep, icy, wind-scoured” portion of the Bowl. They got to her, and the skier was luckily doing fine. They gave her some food and snacks, made it down to Davis Creek Park without any further issues, and the woman’s husband was there to pick her up.
The valuable lessons here are to know as much as possible about the terrain before you go shred it and to fully charge your phone before skiing in case you need a rescue.
Image/Video Credits: Washoe County Sheriff’s – Hasty Team
