Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Get better Graeme


Our friend Graeme Connelly has just suffered 2 broken legs and hypothermia from getting caught in an avalanche at Mt. Washington

From CTV News:

Injured teen spends six hours buried under slide

Updated: Tue Mar. 03 2009 09:08:43

The Canadian Press

VICTORIA — A young snowboarder is recovering from a harrowing ordeal after spending six hours buried by an avalanche near a Vancouver Island ski resort.

The 14-year-old was among a group of five young boarders who went out of bounds at the Mount Washington resort near Courtenay late Monday morning.

Four of the teens returned to the in-bounds area and realized their friend wasn't with them, but waited until 3:30 p.m. to report him missing.

A search began immediately and the boy was found alive two hours later buried beneath the snow and jammed up against the trunk of a tree.

Resort spokeswoman Karen Bonnell says if the teen had not been stopped by the tree he would have been carried over a nearby cliff.

She says the young boarder is expected to recover but has been airlifted to hospital in Vancouver, suffering from hypothermia and possibly two broken legs.

Get better soon Greame