The Team was dispatched about 1500 with the report of a skier with a broken back somewhere in Estelle Bowl.

I arrived about 1600 at the Alpine parking lot to find several NT firefighters on scene, three of which who had postholed up slope (about 200 vertical feet above the top of the Kangaroo chairlift) to the patient. The patient, Zack, a 19-year-old male, had been skiing and jumping with his two buddies when he took a bad fall. He thought he may have broken his back. He was concsious and complaining of both lower back and neck pain. He evidently hit his head upon impact. The medics had carried up a couple blankets which they had covering him.

Ray gave myself and Steve (who is also an Alpine Meadows patrolman) a ride up the hill as far as the Team snowcat could go (very deep slushy snow). It was raining fairly steadily. We continued skiing up to the victim while Chris set a snowmobile track up slope, then returned and pulled a rescue sled up to the victim. When we all reached the victim, we applied a C collar, secured him to a back board with full head/neck/spine immobilization, and strapped him into the rescue sled. Jim Granger arrived on scene at this point as well. Zack was then skied down to the awaiting NT ambulance by Steve and off to Tahoe Forest.

One of the key pieces of rescue equipment on scene, which belonged to the three young skiers, was an umbrella. It proved key in keeping the rain off Zack's head and shoulders during the hour plus before he could get rescued.

Everyone was back down at the base of AM by 1700.