Hiker in avalanche calls for aid, is found

A hiker who used his cellphone to call for help despite being at least partially buried by an avalanche near Snoqualmie Pass Saturday afternoon was found alive about 7:30 p.m.

He was dug out of the snow by rescuers and was hypothermic, according to a spokesman for the King County Sheriff's Office.

He was flown to a landing area at Bandera Airfield near the pass to be checked before being taken by ambulance to a hospital.

The hiker called 911 on his cellphone about 3:15 p.m. Saturday, telling dispatchers he had been caught at the tail end of a long avalanche and knocked 100 feet off the trail, according to King County sheriff's Deputy Chris Bedker.

The hiker told a dispatcher that although he was stuck in the snow, he could see light.

From the man's description, rescuers concluded that he was near the main avalanche chute on Granite Mountain, which is on the west side of Snoqualmie Pass.

Six rescue teams went in to look for the hiker in an area where the avalanche danger remains high.

More than one rescuer noted how lucky this hiker was.

"Most people in avalanches don't make it," one said.

Rescuers, racing against time as the light faded and the air chilled, were able to reach the hiker before dark and pinpoint his location, which allowed a helicopter from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station to get into the area and fly him out, rescuers said. Otherwise, he would have had to be carried out.

Although the hiker's identity was not released, Bedker said the Sheriff's Office knows his name.

It's the second avalanche rescue in the area in two days.

On Friday, a 28-year-old skier was seriously injured when he was caught in an avalanche and slammed into a tree in the Commonwealth Basin area just north of Snoqualmie Pass.

King County Search and Rescue worked with Snoqualmie Pass Fire & Rescue to reach the man Friday afternoon.

King County's Guardian One helicopter plucked the man from a snowfield. He then was transferred to an ambulance and taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.