First responders shared a “spicy rescue” that occurred in northwest Washington state last Wednesday. The King County Sheriff’s Air Support Unit responded to a rescue request on Jan. 22 after receiving a SOS alert from an Apple Watch worn by a backcountry skier. As they flew a helicopter to the coordinates, rescuers only knew that a male skier had been injured after a 1,000-foot fall near Union Peak in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
The King County rescue team arrived just after sunset and found steep terrain that made it difficult to extract the injured skier. During the rescue, the team learned that a second skier was also injured and couldn’t walk. So the team airlifted both injured skiers, along with the “Rescue Specialist” who lowered down from the helicopter to facilitate the rescue.
The incident was documented in a 7-minute video posted to YouTube by the King County Sheriff’s Air Support Unit.