Helicopter Rescues Lost Skier At Palisades Tahoe, CA
The Placer County Sheriff's Office posted footage to Facebook one day ago from a recent rescue that occurred on Friday, February 23rd, out-of-bounds at Palisades Tahoe, CA, where a skier became lost on the backside of the resort.
The skier reportedly used their phone to call for help, and a helicopter was utilized to extract the skier from the potentially dangerous situation.
While the Sheriff's Office wrote a caption detailing the importance of modern technology in speeding up rescue missions, commenters on the video were not pleased with the use of these resources and the skier who likely ducked a rope to get into this situation.
The footage from the helicopter used to rescue the lost skier shows the exact coordinates where the rescue occurred, 39.22128, -120.27702.
Plugging those coordinates into Google Maps, we can see the skier was beyond the backside off the Granite Chief area, leading people to believe he ducked a rope to get there.
The map below shows the skier as the red marker and Palisades Tahoe is at the bottom. See below.
The Sheriff's Office explaining why they used a helicopter to rescue the skier, writing, "in situations like these, time is of the essence, and traditional ground-based rescue efforts could take hours to locate and retrieve the individual. However, with the assistance of aerial resources, such as helicopters, the rescue operation was completed in under an hour, ensuring the skier's safety without unnecessary delay or risk."
The rescue was successful and the skier was retrieved. However, this hammers home how important it is to follow resort boundaries. They exist for a reason, and Ski Patrol is set up to help those skiing in the resort.
If you duck a rope or leave the marked boundaries, this incident is one of countless examples demonstrating how risky and potentially life threatening this decision can be.
We would never condone getting into this kind of situation, but in any emergency situation where reception is limited, it is useful to have Ski Patrol, the Sheriff's Office, and other emergency numbers at your disposal.
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