Skier Rescues Stranger From a Tree Well

Out Alive from Backpacker

Louisa Albanese

Places & Travel, Sports, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 24 May 2023

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Francis Zuber was enjoying the kind of powder skiing you’re lucky to get once a season. Just out of bounds at the Mt. Baker Ski Area, Zuber was enjoying deep turns when he caught sight of something weird. A snowboard, still attached to a pair of boots, stuck out of the snow next to a partially-buried tree.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Out-alive is made possible by Outside Plus subscribers.
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0:12.2	Browse gear reviews, training plans, travel guides, videos, and the survival stories you
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0:18.2	Download the Outside Plus app now from the App Store and use your Outside Plus login to
0:23.7	get started.
0:26.2	The One subscription to fuel all your adventures.
0:34.2	Welcome to this episode of Survival Shorts by Out-Alive.
0:38.2	A podcast dedicated to showcasing extraordinary feats of survival and courage.
0:44.2	There is a shorter video version of this story at backpacker.com slash Out-Alive featuring the actual video of this rescue.
0:53.2	What you're hearing today is an extended audio that we didn't have time to include in the video version.
0:59.2	Our team was recently forwarded this video and it's the kind of thing you hear about but rarely are these stories recorded.
1:07.2	While you're watching, you can't help but feel an alignment of fate and circumstance as if the universe conspired to bring the hero to the exact spot at the perfect moment.
1:18.2	During this episode, you're going to hear from two people.
1:21.2	One voice you'll hear is Francis Zuber, a Washington local who was skiing Mount Baker during a huge powder day.
1:28.2	Francis was wearing his GoPro and just out of bounds when he happened to see a snowboard sticking out of the snow.
1:35.2	It took him a few moments to realize the snowboarder was buried alive and unable to get out of the tree well he'd fallen into.
1:43.2	You'll also hear from Paul Bauer, the global expert in snow immersion suffocation.
1:49.2	Since 2001, Bauer has logged every publicized case of snow immersion suffocation or SIS in the United States.
1:58.2	After a 30-year career on ski patrol, Paul has now devoted the last 20 years to educating resort skiers on SIS.
2:07.2	So without further ado, here is Francis Zuber.
2:13.2	My name is Francis Zuber, currently living in Bellingham, Washington.
	...

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