I am witting this sitting in my living room in Carmel Valley on a warm (66 deg.) March 23rd day with a bright sun shining, no clouds in the sky and the tomato, lettuce, bok choy and vegetable seedlings in our garden peeking up. Yesterday was a different story...

For most of the recent years I have organized a group overnight snowshoe/ski trip, staying in one of the 4 Sierra Club huts in the Sierra backcountry. I usually volunteer in the summer for a work party on the huts to get an idea of where the huts are, the difficulty of reaching them in the winter, the surrounding terrain and to see what each hut offers. Volunteering on the work parties also seems to help with getting hut reservations approved for the choicest winter weekends. A variety of individuals would join for a trip, often including my wife, her friends and my Ultimate Frisbee friends (and dogs too).

For this trip I sent out email invites in January to friends who had previously been on snowshoe/ski trips and sent out email invites to Frisbee email lists in Monterey and Sacramento. These invitations brought responses to nearly fill the 15 person capacity of the hut I had reserved for the March 20-22 weekend. I sent each possible participant an equipment list including fleece and shell clothing, compass, map, whistle, headlamp, etc. The total cost of the trip including food, hut rental, snowshoe rental and snowpark permits would be about $55/person total. The plan for this trip was to meet Friday for lunch and have a leisurely snowshoe trip to the hut Friday afternoon (2.5 miles, less than 2 hours) and have a nice dinner at the hut. There were no specific plans for Saturday although we had talked about taking a day trip for skiing or snowboarding. Sunday would be an easy trip out after cleaning up the hut. The hut is set at the edge of a meadow rimmed by a slope shaped like 1/3 of a bowl with a peak at each end, one is Castle Peak and the other is Basin peak.

The list of participants shifted in the weeks and days before the trip, with some people potentially only staying for Saturday or Sunday night. Brent, Doug, Leslie and George, and my wife Amy had been on previous trips (as well as Doug’s dog Jake, with a thick coat perfect for snow) and had all done well. Doug and Leslie passed the invitation to Leslie’s sister, Regina, who was able to have a fellow teacher watch her class on Friday so she could join the trip. Julie had recently moved from Washington DC and answered the email invitation, although she had never met anyone else on the trip. George brought his dog Bell, a Yellow Lab, who was great friends with our Black Lab, Scotch, who also went. Bob and his wife Maryann and Jocko and his wife Judy planned to ski in and stay for probably one or maybe both nights at the cabin. Jocko had a last minute change in plans and Judy’s friend Nichole decided to come in his place.

On Friday morning I went to pick up the rental snowshoes and coincidentally met almost the entire snowshoe party who were picking up last minute pieces of equipment (headlamps, socks, etc.) at REI. All of the snowshoers met at a scenic restaurant in the sierras on Friday and we made it to the hut by about 5 that night. We packed in food for ourselves, including common dinners and breakfasts for the expected skiers and ourselves. Of the skiers, I thought there was a 90% chance of Judy and Nichole arriving and only a 40% chance that Bob and Maryann would be able to come for the trip.

Friday’s dinner of Pad Thai and a coconut curry basil soup over rice was well received. Everyone in our party and day visitors exclaimed on the improvements to the hut including a solar light, painting and a new wood burning stove. I received a lot of grief for not including toilet paper on the official equipment list since there was none in the outhouse when we arrived. A few had brought their own personal small supply and others were scheming on what their options were (napkins, gloves, pine cones, etc.) with much joking. Doug had developed some blisters on his heels and we decided to attend to them Saturday morning.

Saturday morning was a leisurely breakfast of oatmeal and lots of fixin's and hot drinks. Everyone at the hut set out at 11:00am for a day trip around the area with an intention of climbing to Castle Peak and possibly Basin Peak (both approximately 9000’), depending on conditions. George had packed up all his things and would be hiking out that day. Leslie and Julie decided on a shorter leisurely trip around the basin and meadow and split off from the group a short distance from the hut. The wind was picking up and the weather report from Friday had predicted snow showers, slight wind, and temperatures between 30 and 50 deg. We saw a few other snowshoers and skiers and George said goodbye when the fork to the trailhead split off from the trail to Castle Peak. Half way up to Castle peak Doug decided to return to the hut by the trail we had taken up, after resting for half an hour. The wind was picking up and visibility was varying between 100 to 500’. Amy, Brent, Regina and I, with Scotch and Jake, continued on to Castle peak and were surprised by the ferocity of the wind and we kept our feet well planted and stayed away from the edges of the ridge so we would not get blown over or fall through a cornice.

We decided to return to the hut due to the wind but after coming down a little bit from Castle Peak we noticed that we could traverse off trail to the saddle between Castle Peak and Basin Peak. Although the wind was picking up and visibility was variable, we decided to go towards Basin Peak, with the idea that we could turn down the slope at any point and come to the meadow next to the hut, an easy way back. The saddle between Castle Peak and Basin peak was extremely windy and fragments of ice were being picked up from the slope face and were pelting us as we went. Several times we conferred about the conditions and if continuing to Basin peak was safe. Each time we considered that the trip to the peak would be OK. Jake followed and seemed happy. We stopped for a short food break of salami and cranberry bread (very dry). Scotch was "leading" the group along the saddle; however she continued to look back furtively every 10 seconds to seemingly ask "Are you sure we are going the right way? Can we go back to the nice warm hut?" Approximately 500’ from Basin Peak Amy decided to turn back to the hut because the wind had become even stronger, whipped our Goretex shells like whips and, at times, almost pushed us over. Scotch was eager to follow Amy down and never looked back up the hill once they turned. Just 100’ from where Amy turned around the wind unexpectedly dropped off to a gentler Zephyr. Regina, Brent, Jake and I got to the top of Basin Peak and took some pictures and relaxed for a minute.

We headed back to the hut down the slope face. This was an easy, fun jaunt. We were able to take giant leaps and land softly in the snow with each step. Breaking new trail was easier than using someone else’s steps. We headed across the meadow to the hut and returned about 2:30, a little tired and sweaty, but exhilarated.

Judy and Nichole had met George on his way out and arrived at the hut about noon. They had snacked and their 20 minute nap stretched into a 2 hour snooze. At 2:30 they decided to go for a short backcountry ski trip to the saddle and then down the slope to the hut before dinner. On a whim, someone offered a walkie-talkie to Judy as they left the cabin. I noticed that Judy had a lightweight snow shovel in her pack.

Brent, Doug, Leslie, Julie, Regina, Amy and I played cards, joked, napped, relaxed and drank hot chocolate in the hut. Scotch and Jake were worn out and fell into a deep sleep. Every 30-45 minutes Judy would send an update on their progress and a funny message over the walkie-talkie and we joked back and forth. At 4:30 in the afternoon Judy radioed that Nichole had fallen after just a few turns down the slope and may have injured her knee or hip. The hut was silent while we asked her to repeat her message.

After rousting those napping at the hut and confirming their location was near the top of the slope between Basin and Castle Peaks and that the condition was potentially serious, everyone in the hut conferred about what to do. Amy is a Physical Therapist with abundant orthopedic experience and is in triathlon training, Julie is an ultimate Frisbee player and mountain biker with wilderness rescue training, Brent is an ultimate Frisbee payer and I am a physician and marathon runner. We decided to try to get warm liquids and food to them and to consider trying to bring Nichole back to the hut. At 4:45 Brent, Julie, Amy and I set out towards Basin Peak with ropes, food, hot liquids and a small sled (mistakes numbers 1 and 2). We planned to hike to just below the saddle on the Basin Peak side and traverse towards the Castle Peak side, covering the vast majority of possible area where Judy and Nichole might be. We did not confer with Judy on this search strategy (mistake number 3). Going across the meadow, Amy and I were slightly ahead of Brent and Julie. Going up the slope toward Basin Peak Amy and I kept up a fast pace, even though the temperature was starting to drop, the wind was picking up again and visibility was varying between 400’ and 50’ (near white out). Brent and Julie had the second walkie-talkie to keep contact with Judy and Nichole. Brent and Julie turned back when visibility became too low and our groups were separated. Amy and I continued despite the wind, cold, steepness of the slope and low visibility. At some times the slope was so steep that the footing was precarious and we occasionally would slip 3 or 4 feet before our snowshoe teeth and platforms would find purchase. The sled was being whipped around by the wind and was alternating between forming a sail and pulling me along and being compressed into my back, forcing me into the mountain. Amy and I snowshoed across the slope face sideways, within visual contact, separated by 100 vertical feet, to maximize our ability to spot Judy and Nichole. We continued until the darkness, loss of visibility and the climbable slope were no longer conducive. We had covered more than the middle 2/3 of the slope between Basin and Castle Peaks without seeing Judy or Nichole or any ski tracks.

We returned to the hut at about 6:30 PM and found Brent and Regina gearing up to hike out to the trailhead to alert the search and rescue. We conferred by radio with Judy again about their condition and their location. They had taken the Castle Peak trail and had cut over to the saddle below the peak (as we had done earlier in the day) and were on the Castle Peak side of the bowl, just below the ridge. They had headlamps, water and some food and were OK but were starting to get cold. Judy was building a snow cave but was unable to move Nichole into the cave alone. Judy and Nichole were very calm and level-headed on the radio. Brent and Regina were not given a marked map detailing the location of the skiers now that we knew more precisely where they were (mistake number 4) but they did take out the information for which radio channel the walkie-talkies were set for. Amy, Julie and I had some quick food and water and Leslie and Doug helped fill Amy’s, Julie’s and my backpacks with 4 sleeping bags, 3 Thermarests, a compact stove, food, water, and extra warm, dry clothing. In the dark at 7:00 Amy, Julie and I set off for the Castle Peak trail. We told Doug and Leslie that if we did not find Judy and Nichole by 9:00 PM we would turn back to the cabin.

We found that one headlamp amongst the three of us was enough to follow the trail from the hut to the Castle Peak trail and conserved our batteries. When we got the to the Castle Peak trail at 7:30 we all used our headlamps due to the steepness of the trail and visibility conditions. From the Castle Peak trail we could see the lights of Boreal ski resort lit up a mere 2 miles away, where people were having carefree fun. We continued up the steep trail with occasional stops to check our bearings, to confer with Judy about our progress, the trail they took, and to sip water. Half way up the Castle Peak trail we had a radio call on the walkie-talkies from the search and rescue. They said that they would have snowmobiles in the area in 20 minutes. Judy was unable to hear their message so we relayed it to them. We continued up the trail and came to a set of backcountry ski tracks headed off toward the saddle. Although this was a set of 2 ski tracks they were accompanied by a set of dog tracks. Judy and Nichole did not have a dog with them and Amy and I had seen a couple skiing in the area earlier that day with a dog. We did not follow these tracks. About 10 minutes later we found another set of backcountry tracks heading toward the saddle area and they looked new enough to belong to Judy and Nichole. We followed these tracks for about 1/4 mile and noticed a small possible light through the trees, far down the slope ahead of us. We continued with the tracks and they turned down the slope into an open snow field. We could see more lights on the snow field and continued toward them to find Judy and Nichole at 8:30 PM.

Nichole was lying with her feet down the slope, exposed, and in significant pain. Judy was continuing on the snow cave next to Nichole and was wet and cold. They both were in good spirits considering the conditions. The slope was steep enough that anything not anchored would slide down the hill. Amy assessed Nichole and concluded that a femoral fracture was the most likely injury. We put a Thermarest under and sleeping bag over Nichole, gave her some water and narcotic pain medication. We put a backpack behind her to sit her up and fixed the position of her left foot so the right could be pulled by gravity. This would give slight traction to the right leg and might relieve some of her pain. Judy got some dry gloves and additional dry clothes and finished the snow cave. We decided that it might be too painful or dangerous to move Nichole into the cave if she had such a serious fracture. We put the additional Thermarests in the snow cave and Judy, Julie, Amy and I climbed in and covered ourselves with the sleeping bags to stay warm. We were all getting cold and wet and shivering became uncontrollable.

The search and rescue called us periodically to check in and told us that their skiers and snowmobiles were looking for us. They asked us if we saw their lights or heard the snowmobiles. We did not. The visibility was getting worse, down to 50’, and more snow was falling with strong winds. The drifting snow was covering the ski and snowshoe tracks we had left to get to the slope. Between 9 and 10:30 the search and rescue skiers and snowmobilers continued to look from the saddle down and from the base of the slope up without finding us. We huddled and shivered in the snow cave, assuming that they would find us that night. Our fingers and toes were numb with cold. Our Goretex parkas kept out the wet snow when we stood, but lying in the snow cave proved too much of a challenge to keeping dry. We knew that staying the night would not be good for Nichole, and would also assure that everyone would be significantly hypothermic by the morning. We considered sending 2 of us down the slope to meet the search and rescue party although the extreme low visibility argued against doing that, since those leaving the cave might also get lost. The drifting snow was piling up and was actually adding an insulating layer to our heads and shoulders sticking out of the snow cave. We continued to shiver. We kept a lookout for lights but the driving wind and snow stung our eyes each time we looked. We told the search and rescue that we were getting cold. At approximately 11:15 the search and rescue told us on the radio that they would send up a flare and that we should watch. When the flare went up the entire sky lit up for several seconds and eventually the flare itself was visible down the slope to our left. With the wind it drifted quickly from left to right and went out. We radioed our sighting of the flare to the search and rescue. We knew they were close. We came out of the snow cave to watch for their headlights. At approximately 12:00 midnight a group of about 8 search and rescue skiers came out of the snow and trees at the edge of the snow field. They assessed Nichole and our situation and set to work to build a transport litter and a snow platform for transferring Nichole. We continued to shiver and generally stayed out of the way of the search and rescue party. We packed up our backpacks and put our snowshoes and skis back on in preparation for leaving. It took about 20 minutes for the search and rescue to get Nichole ready for transport. They asked the snowshoers to break trail and "make it level" so they could ski out with Nichole however, the driving snow had erased their tracks in those few minutes. A search and rescue skier led the way, followed by the snowshoers, followed by the litter, controlled by 5 search and rescue skiers. Finally we were moving and the numbness in our fingers and toes started to ebb.

We followed the slope toward Castle Peak in extremely low visibility conditions and, after about 30 minutes, the search and rescue team decided that they had veered off course and were not heading toward the rendezvous point with the snowmobiles. After a significant course correction we eventually hit the ridge trail to Castle Peak, met the snowmobilers and headed down the mountain. 2 snow cats were waiting to transport Nichole where the hut and Castle Peak trails met. The search and rescue team regrouped here and they received a radio call that a pair of snowmobilers were hunkered down in the snow and were disoriented, approximately 1 mile away from the rendezvous point. Skiers were sent out to find the snowmobilers. Judy accompanied Nichole down to the trailhead.

From the snowcats to the hut was less than 1 mile, though there was no visible trail due to the drifting snow. Our physically depleted condition, disorientation and tiredness made a trip by Amy, Julie and I alone a precarious option. Two of the search and rescue skiers and a snowmobile escorted us to the hut and we arrived, tired, wet and cold at 2:30 AM.

Doug and Leslie had kept the fires going to keep the hut warm and made some of the planned dinner of Tabouli, Falafel, Dolma, Olives and pita bread. Nobody except them was there to eat it. We found out that Jake had been missing since we had left at 7:00 PM and they were hoping that he had followed Brent and Regina out.

It turned out that Jake was not lost and had followed Brent and Regina out to the trailhead at 7:00 PM. Brent and Regina later relayed that they witnessed a "military style" assault on the mountain with multiple teams of snowmobilers, skiers and snowcats between 8:00 and 11:30 PM, before they retired. Nichole had a femoral fracture and went to surgery the next day, after being visited by Brent and Regina at the hospital.

Everyone came off the mountain safely in the end. Judy and Nichole kept their heads and never once complained about being tired, cold or in pain. Could we have done better with planning and execution of the rescue efforts? Yes. Did we all work together and did everyone contribute their parts? Yes. Can we find better friends? No. Did the search and rescue team do a great job of finding us and preventing a more serious medical situation? Yes. Part of the reason I write this is to give perspective to anyone who is in a similar situation in the future. Spending more than 5 minutes conferring on the possible options when the call from Judy first came in at 4:30 PM would have been time well spent, even though light was fading and our friends were in danger. Getting clear and accurate information, and communicating directly is essential; making assumptions can lead to wasted opportunities to help.

Mistake number 1: We should have sent out a pair of snowshoers to alert the search and rescue at 4:45 PM, instead of waiting until 6:45 PM.

Mistake number 2: We had inadequate equipment on the first trip out to help Judy and Nichole, even if we had gotten to them quickly. We should have set off with better directions and a full collection of supplies for all of us to potentially wait out the storm, if the search and rescue did not find us until morning.

Mistake number 3: If we had asked Judy how she got up to the ridge we would have realized that going up the Castle Peak trail was the best way to find them.

Mistake number 4: We could have marked one of our topographical maps with the best idea of where Judy and Nichole were located and Brent and Regina could have given that map to the search and rescue team at the trailhead. We had topographical maps with latitude and longitude marked on them. We could have radioed those coordinates to the search and rescue to help them with their search.

Other: If we had a GPS we could have radioed the coordinates to the search and rescue team.