Searchers say survival in slide was a 'miracle'

Despite the happy ending of a saved life, law officers say Thursday's snowmobiling incident points up the critical need to obey posted restrictions, carry a beacon and know your precise location when in the backcountry.

"It's a miracle," Flathead County Search and Rescue Coordinator Jordan White said Friday morning of Ryan Roberts' survival after being buried almost eight hours in an avalanche in Jewel Basin.

Sheriff Mike Meehan, although thankful for Roberts' survival, noted that none of the drama would have taken place if Roberts and his two companions had not been in the backcountry illegally on motorized vehicles.

Jewel Basin is closed to snowmobiles.

Volunteer search and rescue teams mobilized within seven minutes of receiving the Roberts family's 911 call for help at 6:23 p.m. Thursday.

More than 20 members of Flathead Nordic Ski Patrol, North Valley Search and Rescue, and Flathead Search and Rescue suited up and headed for the Jewel Basin Hiking Area on the Swan Crest at the eastern edge of the Flathead Valley.

That's where the Flathead County Sheriff's Office had received word that an avalanche had trapped at least one person.

The information came in a cell phone call from Ryan Sonju and Kevin Roberts, who had been snowmobiling with Ryan Roberts. The two contacted 911 after digging unsuccessfully for their nephew and friend, then hightailing it for a mountaintop to get phone reception.

The original report stated that the group was at Picnic Lakes, a pair of small lakes about one air mile southeast of the Camp Misery parking area and trailhead on Jewel Basin's western border.

Searchers confirmed the location with a member of the victim's party at the avalanche scene, the sheriff's office reported. They then confirmed with Roberts' family members that the snowmobilers knew the Jewel Basin area well enough to know that they were at Picnic Lakes.

At 6:30 p.m., rescuers were mobilized.

Search leaders established a command post on the entry road to the hiking area and rescuers were briefed by 10:10 p.m.

They set up a secondary command post at Camp Misery, about 1 1/2 miles by land from Picnic Lakes.

Because of snow and weather conditions - White told Undersheriff Pete Wingert that wind was blowing about 30 mph and intermittent fog cut visibility to anywhere from 50 feet to 200 feet - rescuers headed for Picnic Lakes on skis and snowshoes.

When they arrived at an overlook near Picnic Lakes about 1:30 a.m., the sheriff's office reported, rescuers saw neither signs of people nor avalanche.

Rescuers consulted with the family further, and were routed to Twin Lakes, another pair of small lakes about 1 3/4 air miles almost due north. They also learned at the time that Roberts had been found and was in critical condition.

They reached the Twin Lakes basin, but found no people or avalanches.

Searchers then were given GPS coordinates that placed the victims farther north in the vicinity of Wildcat Lake - a large lake three air miles and two ridges north of Picnic Lakes. They returned to the summit above Twin Lakes and worked their way north.

Sheriff Meehan said he compared GPS coordinates and redirected the rescuers toward the snowmobile group.

Paramedics - including members of the ALERT helicopter crew, a deputy and a Nordic ski patrol - were routed to the Wounded Buck Creek area to meet with the victim's friends and family members who were carrying out their rescue.

Searchers on skis and snowshoes reached an overlook just as the family snowmobile rescue party was leaving the scene, White said.

He said the searchers crossed four miles as the crow flies and 2,000 feet in elevation change. On the ground however, he estimated they covered seven miles and 4,000 feet in elevation change - by foot in the dark of night at subzero wind chills and foggy conditions.

The family hustled Roberts to a waiting Three Rivers EMS ambulance, which took him to Kalispell Regional Medical Center for treatment by 6:11 a.m.

Both Kalispell's ALERT and Missoula's LifeFlight helicopters were unable to fly because of the low cloud ceiling. Meehan said Malmstrom Air Force Base's rescue helicopter was prepared to fly, but not until 7 a.m.

"Such a rescue is a miracle made only more profound by the treacherous conditions encountered and the difficulty in accessing the scene of the incident," a sheriff's office press release said.

"This office is appreciative of the assistance provided by friends and family and the diligent efforts of search and rescue personnel."

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com