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Cobalt Exploration Newsroom - Community Involvement
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Montana state elks community involvement mark Duffy
From The Bozeman Daily Chronicle
A helicopter flown by Mark Duffy of Central Helicopters, Inc., ferried the three victims from the side off the mountain Sunday. Sacajawea Peak, at 9,665 feet, is located about seven miles north of Bridger Bowl ski area.
The only piece of the plane that was easily identifiable was the tail section, Duffy said. He first saw the crash site while flying in search of the missing plane Saturday evening, when he spotted a fire burning.
"Our concern was for the survivors," he said. He dropped Gallatin County search and rescue personnel off near the plane and they determined three passengers had died.
"It was not near the top of the mountain," Duffy said. "It was southwest of Sacajawea Peak, about one mile from the peak."
Duffy said he could see the survivor's tracks in the snow as he walked down the mountain. "He walked one-half to three-quarters of a mile," Duffy said.
Local pilot rescues backcountry snowboarder
By SCOTT McMILLION Chronicle Staff Writer
LIVINGSTON - A backcountry snowboarder suffered a broken pelvis and had nearly died of exposure and blood loss when a helicopter rescued him from the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Area after dark on Friday, according to Jim Mastin, chief of Livingston Fire and Rescue.
Mark Duffy flew the helicopter that night, locating the 23-year-old victim in the dark while ground-based rescuers were still an hour or more away, slogging through deep snow.
"He was the hero in this deal," Mastin said of Duffy. "He probably saved the guy's life."
Duffy, of Bozeman, downplayed his role.
"We just went in there and got him out," he said Monday.
The injured man was Connor Mulroy, a student and bicycle messenger from Boston, according to Colter Anderson, a Bozeman resident who had been skiing with him that afternoon.
Mulroy was injured Friday about 4 p.m., in the Pine Creek drainage about 15 miles south of here. He was on a snowboard, while Anderson was on skis.
The two had decided the high country on nearby Black Mountain was too prone to avalanches and were skiing back toward the trailhead, Anderson said. Mulroy came down a chute and, because of poor visibility, unexpectedly launched off a wind lift, landing hard on a boulder in a snow-free area.
"He landed ass-first on a rock," Anderson said.
Mulroy was able to descend about 200 yards, but by then "his pants were full of blood" flowing from two puncture wounds.
Anderson said he tried to tow Mulroy out on the snowboard "but that didn't work at all."
He said Mulroy was able to crawl to a patch of trees that offered some shelter. The two tied extra clothing around his buttocks to stem the bleeding, then Anderson skied as hard as he could down the mountain.
After about 3.5 miles, he came into cell phone range and dialed 911.
Then the phone's batteries died, but not before Anderson could give a location.
He continued down the mountain, running the last mile. Then, "totally exhausted," he got in his car, and met rescuers on the way up.
Three men started hiking up the trail through deep snow, attempting a rescue, anticipating a three to four hour trek.
"Our plan was to get in there and build a fire and warm him up," Mastin said. Rescuers couldn't have given blood under the conditions, though they hoped to administer pain medication.
The original call came in about 5 p.m., Mastin said. Darkness was approaching fast and rescuers knew the victim had no survival gear with him.
"They were not even close to being as prepared as they should have been," he said.
Anderson said the two had consumed all their food and water, and didn't have a first aid kit or emergency shelter, though they had avalanche gear like beacons, probes and shovels.
Anderson was able to give Duffy good directions to where his friend lay and he found the injured man.
"He was in pretty bad shape by the time we got him out of there," Duffy said. "The guy was definitely hypothermic. He wasn't able to communicate and he was kind of delusional."
Duffy flew the man directly to the hospital in Bozeman.
Anderson said Mulroy was doing better by Monday, after three surgeries, including one that removed his coccyx.
Mastin cautioned backcountry users to be prepared for emergencies.
"If you're going to play in the backcountry, you'd better prepare to spend the night," he said.
Scott McMillion is at scottm@dailychronicle.com
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