Snowed-in skiers OK

ST. IGNATIUS — Reports of stranded backcountry skiers high in the Mission Mountains last Thursday morning prompted a massive response by local law enforcement and search and rescue teams. In the end, it was all for naught as the first rescue group contacting the supposedly trapped three males, a Life Flight helicopter from St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, discovered the report was erroneous and the 49- and 40-year-old men and a 15-year-old youth were uninjured.

A call came in to police early on Thursday morning from a Columbia Falls man reporting he had lost contact with a group of friends he had organized to pick up at Lindbergh Lake in the Swan Valley. The reporting party said the group had set off from St. Mary’s Lake in St. Ignatius and had planned to hike Mount St. Mary, camp for the night and then ski down into the Swan. After missing a planned call time, the man claimed the 15-year-old had begun to “crash” physically, had suffered extreme exposure and lost feeling in his extremities, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Ryan Funke.

A rescue operation was quickly cobbled together. A group of about 40 people, including members of Lake and Flathead County search and rescue teams, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Tribal Police, Tribal Fish and Game and Flathead County Nordic Ski Patrol and Mountain Rescue team assembled at the airport in St. Ignatius, where a Life Flight helicopter met the team to prepare an aerial search for the skiers. An ambulance waited at the main hangar to provide medical care and transport the victims to a local hospital.

Both St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson and St. Luke Hospital in Ronan were put on alert about the possibility of patients arriving.  Using a general description of the search area provided by the caller, the helicopter quickly located tracks along a ridge on East Mt. Saint Mary’s, and eventually came upon the group. A rescue basket and portable radio were dropped to the skiers, who told the helicopter that they were uninjured and that they planned to ski down to Lake St. Mary’s without further assistance from the helicopter or rescue team. They did request a ride from the lake, as they had been dropped off there on Wednesday morning to make their trip.

They arrived back at the Command Center at the Mission airport at approximately 3:30 p.m. and required no further medical assistance. 

Lake County Search and Rescue Public Information Officer Monte Jenkins said the group had planned to camp overnight, but not on the exposed ridge at approximately 9,500 feet they were forced to settle down on. Jenkins said they were hit by a blizzard Wednesday afternoon that severely reduced visibility. During the night, their small tent was nearly buried under several feet of snow. Jenkins said the report of their rough night might have prompted an overreaction by the caller who reported the friends in danger.

“I suspect he was pretty concerned,” Jenkins said of the caller. “There are several places where a communication breakdown could have occurred.”

Jenkins said he followed up with both adult skiers this past weekend and they reported they were fine. They also mentioned how thankful they were for the rapid, organized response to their situation.

“They were so grateful for all the resources showing up out there,” Jenkins said. “They were humbled and overwhelmed by the response that came from within and across county lines.”

A rescue helicopter at Malmstrom Air Force Base was originally called to provide assistance, LCSO Deputy Ryan Funke said, but when it was verified the men were uninjured, the call was canceled. Funke said the Life Flight helicopter is not designed to land in the snowy, cloudy conditions, and the rescue crew at Malmstrom is more experienced in rescue. Life Flight helicopters are designed to transport injury victims, but not to provide rescue.

The total cost of the operation has not been calculated yet, Jenkins said, but will be released once tabulated.