A New Hampshire skier suffered a life-threatening lower-leg injury after triggering an avalanche while skiing in the Great Gulf on Mount Washington on Saturday morning.
Dominick Torro, 30, of Bow, New Hampshire, was skiing down “Airplane Gully” with a friend when the incident happened. Torro’s friend and another unrelated skier skied over to assist Torro after he triggered an avalanche and sustained the lower-leg injury. No one else was injured or caught in the avalanche.
The two other skiers gave aid to Torro and called 911 for assistance. This 911 call started the rescue process. As the 911 call worked its way through the proper channels, it was first relayed to US Forest Service Snow Rangers. Due to the incident being outside of the Snow Ranger’s direct jurisdiction, it was relayed to New Hampshire Fish and Game Conservation Officers. Conservation Officers diverted their efforts from a deer case investigation to the rescue call.
The Conservation Officer who took the call spoke with a US Forest Service Snow Ranger and together they worked out a plan. Snow Rangers cover the Cutler River Drainage but they are always willing to assist in any way that they can throughout the White Mountains. That proved true once again as the Conservation Officer started making calls to the National Guard Helicopter and the Snow Ranger started making calls to gather Mountain Rescue Service (MRS) personnel.
As the National Guard Helicopter was being mobilized, personnel from the Mount Washington State Parks and Mount Washington Auto Road coordinated the ground effort in getting a “SnoCat” ready to transport the MRS team up the Auto Road to the summit where they would trek over the ridge and rescue the skier if the helicopter could not.
While the rescue effort organization and mobilization proceeded, there was continued phone interaction with the injured skier and the two skiers giving aid. Concern about specific and needed medical action rose to the level that a joint phone call was made to a highly experienced back-country paramedic in order to give medical guidance to the two skiers providing the aid. The guidance was given and Torro was stabilized.
Both skiers who gave aid did a great job considering the conditions and situation. While waiting for the National Guard Helicopter to arrive, the skiers shoveled out an area on the side slope so that the paramedic and litter that would be lowered down from the National Guard Helicopter would have enough space to load Torro and hoist him into the helicopter while it hovered above.
As the MRS Team loaded into the NH State Parks SnoCat, the National Guard Helicopter was also taking off from Concord. The MRS team continued their assent up the Auto Road as a precautionary measure and was thankfully not needed.
At 3:19 p.m., the National Guard helicopter crew located Torro and lowered down a medic and litter to his location. They then flew off for a short time in order to have Torro assessed and loaded into the litter. When the medic was ready, the helicopter crew flew back over the top of them and hoisted Torro and then the medic into the helicopter at 3:55 p.m.
The two skiers who gave aid decided to hike out and ski down on their own.
Torro was flown from the incident location to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, for treatment of his injuries.