Dramatic Video of Snowboarder Rescued After Being Buried in Tree Well

31st March 2023

Last modified on April 3rd, 2023

The incident happened at Mt Baker in Washington state in the USA. A passing skier rescued a man who was fully buried and set to die. UPDATED

Francis Zuber was skiing in deep powder in the trees when he caught sight of the tip of a snowboard sticking out of the snow by a tree.

Ian Steger was buried upside down in around 6 feet of snow, so without assistance he would never have been able to survive.

See here for the rescue:

“The mountains don’t care how much skill or experience you have. They don’t even care if you and your ski partners are doing everything right,” Zuber wrote online.

He advised those hitting the slopes to take an avalanche training course to learn how to survive these types of situations.

“I’m thankful I knew just enough to scrape by and perform a successful rescue,” Zuber said.

“And always look out for each other out there.”

There has been huge reaction on social media and praise for the calm and professional response of Francis Zuber to the situation.

GoPro

16 hours ago

What an incredible, life-saving rescue that shows a true hero in action. Thank you for sharing.

The Winter Woods

1 day ago

Dude you are an actual hero. There is a 100% chance he would have died without your help.

RokkMusik

1 day ago

Awesome job! You were situationally aware, acted quickly to clear the airway, and had the composure to communicate with the victim well as you did it.

Hats off to the rescuer. He stayed collected the entire time and went right for the airway. It’s common sense for backcountry folk to know this but we have to give props where they’re due. He also managed the situation well even after freeing the airway. Great work and thanks for sharing!

Dylan Kennedy

1 day ago

I’m seriously in awe over this video. Quick thinking situational awareness the ability to stay calm and your preparedness saved this guy’s life and saved his family from a lifetime of grieving

smokingbluegrass

19 hours ago

As a meber of Search and Rescue, I can say with total confidence that this was has legit of a rescue as it gets. Maybe 2 to 5 mins left on his life when you started climbing back. I’ll ride with you anytime! and let’s also give credit to the victim for remaining calm and not freaking out. This was a lot of skill and level headedness combined with a hell of a lot of luck, but you gotta to be good to be lucky!

B Hall

1 day ago

Crazy seeing this from your perspective! I can’t believe how close it was for that dude given how easy it would have been to miss him.

Jack David

8 hours ago (edited)

The guy in the tree well is my ski buddy’s uncle. Has 30 years of boarding experience up at Baker, knows his shit but got unlucky. Tried to shoot those narrow trees hoping for an opening below but wound up taking a tumble in the wrong place. My friend was telling me that he was in there for about 5 minutes before this man saved his life. It is a miracle and an excellent example of the dangers of deep snow immersion and tree wells. Even if you know the mountain, are skiing with friends and are an expert rider, the mountain does not care and can humble you quickly

John Leadbeater

1 day ago

Damn, moving out to Baker this year for a job at WWU. This really just solidified the importance of getting into an AVI training course and riding with experienced back country riders. You just save his life and that’s insane! You are a hero

Bruce Burger

1 day ago (edited)

Thanks for posting this. I have 3 reactions: 1) The boarder was incredibly lucky that you saw him. 2) He was equally lucky that, once you saw him, you were strong enough to get to him quickly, aware of how to respond properly, AND calm enough to stay focused. You were amazing. 3) “Ski with a partner” is usually of little value to the person in back. In this case, if you had landed in a tree well, by the time your partner realized you weren’t there, it probably would have been too late for him to climb back uphill in deep powder, find you, and save you. I’m not sure what the solution is, but it probably means staying in constant visual or aural contact, which is very hard.