My husband and I had ski toured into a the Egypt Back country Shelter for our anniversary, when we arrived there were two sleeping bags in the hut but no sign of other hut users. We settled in and started to cook our dinner. Although the hut had been fully booked, the avalanche hazard was increasing because of the rapid warming in the forecast, so it was not surprising that no other skiers were showing up. Just before 7:00 a man burst into the hut and said that he was in an avalanche and that his friends was hurt very badly and needed help. He did not have an SOS devices and it was getting late, the sun had already started to go down and a helicopter rescue would only be available for another half hour. 

We activated our ACR ResQLink PBL and after determining that the man was okay we grabbed gear and skis and started making our way to the remaining victim to assist. We skied hard for about 45 minutes before reaching the slope below where the avalanche happened. We could see where the victim was marked by a ski. Before we were able to start up the slope towards the slide path the helicopter flew over head. They saw us and circled back and landed. After a quick information sharing they flew up to the slope and immediately evacuated the victim. We skied back to the hut and spent the night with the man not knowing the condition of his friend. 

Sadly, the victim’s injuries were too severe and he did not survive, but the availability of the emergency beacon gave the victim the best chance at survival.