Montrose Search and Rescue – Out-of-bounds Skiers Pay for Their Rescue

It was the last skiing run of a snowy day back in February 1998 when two snowboarders crossed the marked boundaries of the ski run into fresh snow. They said it was accidental, that they didn’t see the signs that warned skiers not to cross over. But cross over they did, and they spent the next 24 hours fighting for their lives.

According to the pair, they became disoriented in fog and couldn’t find their way back to the Snow Crest ski resort in the Mt. Waterman area. They found shelter in a small cave or overhang, found dry wood and started a fire with a lighter and money from their wallets. Wandering the next day, they abandoned their snowboards and one of them took a tumble off a 70-foot cliff, dislocating his hip.

It just so happened that the Montrose Search and Rescue team was in the mountains for snow and ice training that day, so when the call came for the missing snowboarders, they were close at hand. The case took on particular urgency as another snowboarder had gotten lost just a couple of weeks earlier. In that tragic case the snowboarder died.

About 65 searchers – MSR, ski patrol and law officers – combed the area around the ski runs. MSR team members strapped on snowshoes and started walking through the knee-deep snow, trying to follow the tracks of the lost snowboarders. As light dawned the next day, a helicopter spotted the discarded snowboards and by afternoon the two lost skiers had been located, about four miles from the resort.

The two were initially grateful and appreciative. Immediately after their rescue, the papers quote the two as saying: “I won’t be doing much out-of-bounds snowboarding. You see your life flash in front of you. It’s a dumb thing to do,” and “If I have to reimburse them, it will be well worth it. They saved our lives and saved our families a lot of grief.”

That all changed when criminal charges were leveled at the pair. The snowboarders were charged with trespassing. Although the MSR has a policy of not charging for their rescues, the County District Attorney felt otherwise, and was asking for restitution of $23,000 to cover the basic costs of the rescue operation. However, the County would not seek jail time.

Despite their earlier statement of willingness to pay for their rescue, the pair decided to dispute the fine. The case went to trial in July, and the two snowboarders fought the misdemeanor trespassing charges on the grounds that the out-of-bounds area had not been properly marked by the ski resort. A couple of members of the MSR search team had to testify in the trial, based on their report that the two had admitted to skiing out-of-bounds when they were rescued, which the two contested. The defense lawyer claimed that his clients had been bullied into a confession.

Although these technicalities were argued, for the jury it was a simple matter. They had to merely decide if the two had gone out-of-bounds intentionally. A juror on the case later said, “We felt that they did go out-of-bounds to look for fresh powder to ski on. There were signs posted and the trails were so that you couldn’t go out-of-bounds without knowing it. It’s just like if there’s a ‘no parking’ sign. You don’t park!”

Despite their protestations, the two were found guilty of trespassing and fined $23,000 for restitution. Ironically, one of the two guilty snowboarders was not present when the verdict was read as he was at an LAPD training event as part of his quest to become a police officer.

Again, the MSR does not, by policy, charge for their rescues. But this rescue had involved 65 volunteers, police and firemen, along with a helicopter for a 24-hour period of bad weather, with risk of avalanche. The LA County Sheriff Dept. spokesman said of the decision to seek restitution: “This was an intentional criminal act, and the taxpayers should not have to pay.”

  mike lawler