Lost on the Mountain

The day started as a normal day at Bogus for some snowboarding.  We started on the backside, we did around 5-6 runs, in probably the best snow of this season.  The whole time we were off the groomed trails, into the fresh powder off trails.  Hitting jumps into fresh powder weaving in between the  trees and carving up several inches excellent snow, everything was great.

We started the next run, the same we started the last few runs, hitting the off trails, everything was going normal, until I took a wrong turn and lost Vince and Jose.  I didn't think much of it because it has happened before, usually I just follow the mountain down. So I start following the contours of the mountain. I quickly notice that I'm starting to slow down, I look up and see a slight uphill incline coming up, I know I don't have enough speed to make it up.  I come to a complete stop, I look down, I see I can't see my snowboard anymore, it has sunk about a foot into the fresh powder. I try to get my snowboard above the snow, but with every slight wiggle or jump, I only sink more and more into the snow.  So at this point I'm kinda annoyed that I have to unstrap and get over this slight hump. The exact moment that I unstrap, I sink into the snow above my waist.  Now I think I just need to army crawl to the top of this slight hill and strap back up and head down the mountain.  I finally get to the top of this slight hill, and I look out, I see a ravine, a gulch ahead.  At this point I know I can't ride down this, the snow is too deep; but I also know I can't climb back up for the same reasons. At this point I start to realize that his situation is a little bit more serious that I previously thought. 

I try to to advance down the hill, but every step feel like I'm taking 100 normal steps.  I probably only take about 15-20 steps, and by this point I'm exhausted, my throat feel like I'm breathing in razor blades with every breath of freezing air. I finally get down to an opening were it's relatively flat, at point I'm starting to genuinely panic, I starting yelling "help" at the top of my lungs for a around 5 minutes, but I never got a response. I look around I see nothing but snow and thick brush surrounding me.  At this moment I also realize that its starting to get pretty dark, my heart starts racing, reality is starting to set in.  I take a moment to calm myself down, I take slow and steady breathes, until I finally come down from the panic.  After countless hours of watching survival shows (Man vs Wild, Survivor Man, Dual Survivor, etc), I remembered their number one rule, don't panic and analyze the situation.  

At this point I check my phone, I had it on airplane mode to conserve battery, I take it off that mode, I receive a couple text messages from a friend.  I try to call out to my friends to no avail.  So I send them a text message to let them know that I'm lost.  Where I'm currently located I don't have a good vantage point so I crawl along the snow, using my snowboard as an anchor to push me forward. I finally get to a place were I think I can have a better vantage point.  At this point it crosses my mind that if it gets darker, I might have to stay put and spend the night, rather than risk getting lost even more in the dark.  I look around I see a tree that has leaned over and under it there's dry land, and I know if  I have too, I'd make my shelter there. The survivor shows also taught me how to make snow shoes out of tree branches, which was another option for me.  I lay my snowboard upside down, and climb on top of it to get a scope of whats ahead.   I can barely make out what I think is a trail.  Now I have to make a decision to either stay and shelter up or try to reach that trail before its dark.  

I decide to try and reach the trail.  I use the same technique to crawl along the snow using my snowboard as an anchor.  After about 20 mins of  crawling I finally reach the trail.  I notice that its a snowboard trail, and I knew that if I followed it, it would lead to the main trail. I look up and I'm relieved I can see the orange glow of the light from the trail. I can't strap back up and just ride out, the snow is too deep still and its too flat.  Luckily the trail has compacted a bit and I'm only sinking past my boots.  

I finally reach the main trial, I take a good 10 minutes to collect my composure and catch my breathe.  After sitting down, I can hear someone calling my name in the distance, I recognize Vince's voice, and respond to him, I strap back in and head down the mountain to meet up with them.  After I reach the bottom I set down again, coming down from the rush of adrenaline gives me a feeling of nausea.  I was relieved that I had made it down before dark!