LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — We’re learning more about an incredible rescue that was caught on camera at Palisades Tahoe.
Two skiers are credited with saving a man’s life after they found him buried in deep snow last week.
Their story serves as a reminder for skiers and snowboarders to be prepared.
It was a wintry Wonderland at Palisades Tahoe on Feb. 18
“It’s what every skier dreams of,” said Carson Schmidt.
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After a seven-hour drive from Sacramento, Schmidt and his friend finally made it to the mountain for their first run of the day.
“Woo! That’s deep,” you could hear Schmidt saying in video recording during that day.
Then, something stopped them in their tracks.
“Hey, are they good?” Schmidt says in the video.
A skier buried in the snow.
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“I see ski tips and next thing you know, you just kind of go into ‘go mode’ and just dig them out until you can find his face,” he said. “He was in total shock, like all he wanted to find was his wife.”
He said the man was blue when they got him out and didn’t know how long he had been buried, but he was luckily able to ski away and find his wife.
“Deep snow, it’s the great equalizer,” Schmidt said.
He said that terrain is pretty advanced, and the deep snow only emphasized that. Schmidt is hoping this reminds everyone to be safe on the slopes.
“Everybody needs to be aware. When you go out in that deep snow, you need to ski with a partner, and you need to be trained. You need to have a shovel probe. You need to have all the right stuff,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt said the man they rescued was in total shock, so they didn’t catch his name or the story of how he ended up there, but he is glad the man is alright.
