By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
A Coast Guard Air Station helicopter crew went to the aid of a Sitka couple Friday morning after the man was injured in a 150-foot fall down an icy slope on Mt. Bassie.
The accident happened as Ben and Emily Clark were making the challenging hike over the top of Baranof Island from Sitka to Baranof Warm Springs.
Ben Clark, 35, told the Sentinel that he was feeling better today, as he recovered at home from the multiple bruises, abrasions and muscle strains caused by the fall.
He expressed gratitude for his wife’s calm response, and the fast response by Sitka Search and Rescue and the Coast Guard.
“I feel super lucky,” Clark said. “I’m grateful for the search and rescue team, and the Coast Guard crew that picked me up. We have amazing people here, willing to drop what they’re doing to help people who get hurt.”
Both Ben and Emily are teachers in Sitka, and both are outdoor enthusiasts.
They left Thursday on the cross-island hike, which Ben had made before, using a different route. After camping overnight they waited for clouds to lift before setting out Friday morning. About 15 minutes after starting, Ben slipped on the steep and icy terrain, was unable to self-arrest with his pole and ice ax combination, and slid 150 feet down the mountainside.
“I slipped and couldn’t stop my fall,” he said. The slope was getting increasingly steep as he slid down, and he feared he would be unable to stop.
By chance, he said, he was able to jam his leg into a divot in the snow and stop his slide. Emily immediately helped him stabilize his position, he said. “She was the initial hero,” Ben said.
Using their emergency satellite-relay texting device, the Clarks contacted the fire department’s search and rescue squad.
“I got a text saying an individual had fallen 150 feet on blue ice and sustained injuries,” said SAR Capt. Matt Hunter. “We had made arrangements (in advance) that I would be their point of contact for their trip plan.”
SAR notified the Coast Guard at 10:45 a.m., reporting that the man was having difficulty walking because of the injury to his leg from using it to arrest his slide.
“Thankfully, we made a lot of smart decisions before we made a dumb decision,” Ben said.
Hunter said that, on foot, the rescue team, with their equipment, would have needed about 12 hours to reach the couple, and two or three days to bring them down.
But the Coast Guard helicopter and its crew were at the accident site within an hour. The couple was flown to Sitka, where an ambulance was waiting.
Cmdr. Matthew Breckel, the aircraft commander on the case, cited the accident as an example of how a recreational hike can quickly turn into a disaster if preparations aren’t made.
“No trip is routine, and even the most experienced hikers and climbers can have accidents,” Breckel said in a statement Friday. “Being able to communicate distress is an important safety tool when the unexpected occurs. In the case today the hikers were well prepared and that contributed significantly to our ability to locate their position and transfer the injured individual to medical care.”
Hunter added, “It’s very important someone knows where you’re going and when to expect you to return. It’s best to give people a specific time you want search and rescue notified. ... If they had been unable to use their device or the device had broken, we were going to start a search Saturday evening because of prior arrangements.”
Trip plans can be submitted and a VHF radio can be borrowed for free at the fire hall, Hunter said.
