BELLINGHAM â A near tragedy in the Whatcom County back country was averted when members of the Bellingham Mountain Rescue Council managed to find and lead a splitboarder who became lost near Artist Point to safety Sunday evening. It was a great outcome, Bellingham Mountain Rescue Council s Chuck Foster told The Bellingham Herald. It could have turned bad real easy, because he didn t have long when we found him.
Despite Sunday s happy outcome, Foster said everyone who heads out into the back country this winter should take some valuable lessons from the experience.
Bellingham Mountain Rescue received notification at approximately 5:30 p.m. Dec. 27 of a man who had become lost while splitboarding â a snowboard that can be separated into two ski-like halves and used to climb in back country settings â outside the Mt. Baker Ski Area near Artist Point, Foster reported.