Deschutes County Sheriff’s SAR assists injured skier off Tumalo Mountain

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue assisted an injured skier who sought help Saturday in getting down the east slope of Tumalo Mountain.

County 911 dispatch got a call just after 8:30 a.m. about the 24-year-old Bend man. A deputy called the reporting party, who said the skier sustained a non-life-threatening injury and would need assistance to get back to the parking lot at Dutchman Flat Sno-Park, said Deputy Shane Zook, assistant Search and Rescue coordinator.

A dozen SAR volunteers, two seasonal deputies on snowmobiles and a Special Services deputy responded to the call, Zook said.

Six volunteers set out on snowmobiles and six on skis, taking different routes to reach the injured man around 11:35 a.m.

Members of the medical team assessed the man’s condition and provided aid that enabled him to ride out on a snowmobile, Zook said. The man was walked down to waiting snowmobiles at the bottom of the mountain’s east slope.

The snowmobile team provided the man with a ride back to the sno-park, where he said he did not need any further medical assistance, the deputy said.