SEATTLE — A heart-pounding rescue was caught on camera when a skier spotted a snowboarder buried under 6 feet of snow on Mt. Baker earlier this month.
Francis Zuber said he was sidecountry skiing on Mt. Baker with a friend on March 3 when he caught sight of a snowboard sticking out from a tree well.
In a GoPro video captured by Zuber, Zuber can be seen quickly springing into action and digging the snowboarder out.
"When I saw that there was a snowboard upside down and it was wiggling back and forth, you know, that's when I knew. I shot up to him, no response, okay, this guy needs to be rescued right now. I don't know how long he's been there for, no one else is coming most likely, I need to get to him right now," said Zuber.
Zuber dug for nearly two minutes before he made verbal contact with the snowboarder. Once he did, he told the snowboarder "you're good, I got you" and took a moment to catch his breath.
"I was very much, you know, like, terrified that I was going to let this person die because I wasn't going to be able to get to him in time," said Zuber.
Zuber was eventually able to dig the snowboarder out, ending the rescue with a hug and a bond that will last a lifetime.
"He's like, 'Hey man, you saved a life today,' like, 'Thank you for stopping,'" Zuber said.