A snowboarder who was separated from his partner in the backcountry on New Year’s Day was forced to spend the night in the Mount Baker snow before he was rescued by ski patrol.
The snowboarder was rescued from the Swift Creek drainage area of Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. When he was reported missing around 4 p.m., rescuers followed his tracks via helicopter provided by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to located him, according to a story in The Olympian. He was airdropped food, shelter, and a radio to help him survive through the night until a hoist-equipped helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard could arrive to pull him out, as it was too dark and difficult to attempt a nighttime rescue.
“Kudos to all the brave souls who worked 14 hours to locate and rescue an overdue backcountry snowboarder who'd become separated from his partner,” Whatcom County Sheriff's Office wrote in a Facebook post. “Mount Baker Ski Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine support partnered to find the 34-year-old backcountry snowboarder in a drainage area, considered too treacherous to attempt a ground rescue.”
Photo: Whatcom County Sheriff's Office/Bellingham Mountain Rescue (WCSAR)
The Olympian reported that the snowboarder told rescuers he wasn’t injured, and could stay the night with the provided materials. Bellingham Mountain Rescue reached him around 5 p.m. on January 2, 2025. He was able to be extracted by 10 p.m. That was 30 hours after the initial report arrived.
It’s been a busy season for backcountry rescues across the country. At the end of 2024, El Dorado County Search and Rescue helped a lost splitboarder in Nevada, at the junction of the Warr Trail and Saxon Creek Trail. In November, a snowboarder was airlifted out of the British Columbia backcountry after a fall that left them unable to move.
Freeride snowboarder Leon Butler is an expert in the backcountry, which led him to ride on the Freeride World Tour. Back in 2020, he revealed his top seven tips to backcountry snowboarding in an article for Red Bull’s blog.
"In theory, a route is never safe—that’s the attitude you should have,” he said. “There are many precautions and steps you should always take in order to assess the situation and surroundings. The most important is never move through mountains on your own; it's good to have other opinions on safety and never be afraid to turn around and go home."
Related: Backcountry Snowboarder Rescued After Friend Left Him Behind