Sunday Night March 8th, around 6:13 pm, the Gallatin County Dispatch Center was notified of a 47-year-old Bozeman man needing assistance on a closed Forest Service road in the Hyalite Canyon area.He had been hiking from the South Cottonwood Trailhead into the Hyalite area when he ran into difficult snow conditions. He found himself having to “post hole” every step to walk through the snow.  He became extremely fatigued, nearly ran out of water, and was quickly becoming hypothermic. Oncoming darkness was also a factor. The male had an emergency beacon that he activated to summon help. The male was able to communicate with the emergency beacon company via text message, who then relayed the information to rescue personnel.

Rescuers from Sheriff’s Search and Rescue responded to the Langohr Trailhead in Hyalite Canyon.  Using snowmobiles they quickly located him with the help of the accurate coordinates given by his emergency beacon.  He was treated for being extremely cold, packaged in a specialized rescue sled, and transported to the trailhead.

Sheriff Gootkin would like to point out that this is a good example of not waiting too long to make a call for help. He said: “It is much better for the rescue volunteers to come get you in the daylight than to wait until you are in serious trouble at midnight.” He added “it may be your ego that gets bruised but it saves your mom and our rescuers unneeded worry and work.”

Second Incident:
A 22-year-old female college student from Missouri suffered an ankle injury while cross-country skiing 1.5 miles south of West Yellowstone Monday.

Sheriff’s Search and Rescue in West Yellowstone received a cell phone call from skiers indicating that the 22-year-old female had fallen and possibly suffered a broken ankle. Deputies responded to the injured skier’s location on the Rendezvous Ski Trail system and promptly escorted her via two place snowmobile, to the Hebgen Basin Fire Department for a preliminary evaluation.

Sheriff Gootkin would like to remind everyone that the warm spring temperatures can result in ice covered snowpack that is extremely hard and unforgiving. Remember to be prepared as an injury even during a short excursion, can result in prolonged exposure to the elements.

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