It took dozens of rescuers several hours to retrieve a skier who broke his leg after venturing beyond the Eaglecrest Ski Area with two friends on Saturday.
Jackie Ebert, Operations Chief for Juneau Mountain Rescue, says they were able to mobilize quickly thanks to the timing of the accident.
“A lot of our team, you know, we all ski for fun. So we were kind of in the area,” she said.
Still, Ebert says it was a complicated rescue. Douglas skier Patrick Millard, 37, had broken his leg in the backcountry area near the north face of Fish Creek Knob. Rescuers had to negotiate heavy snow, avalanche zones, thick brush and steep terrain before securing Millard in a rescue sled.
“Navigation teams to establish the best route to get the person out of the field, trail clearing crews, a technical team in case we needed to get any sort of rope systems involved,” Ebert said. “All said and done, I think it took about eight hours. And we had folks in the field for about six.”
The rescue team made it to the Eaglecrest Lodge just after 10 pm, where Capital City Fire and Rescue transported Millard to Bartlett Regional Hospital.
