Lost skier found on Schweitzer Mountain

SANDPOINT - A teenage skier who lost his way at Schweitzer Mountain Resort on Sunday was found unharmed early Monday morning, officials said.

The unidentified 15-year-old became separated from family members he was skiing with and got lost when he went out of bounds on the Little Blue Ridge run. Bonner County Sheriff Elaine Savage said the local teen was racing his brother down a slope when he took a wrong turn.

“He decided to take a shortcut and beat his brother to the bottom,” Savage said.

Schweitzer's ski patrol and local search-and-rescue workers began looking for the teen at about 4 p.m., said Savage.

A rescue helicopter from the 36th Rescue Flight scrambled from Fairchild Air Force base at about 10:45 p.m. The helicopter, which had night-vision capabilities, found the boy near the Colburn Creek runoff after an air search that lasted about an hour and a half, the U.S. Air Force said in a news release.

The skier was found to be in good condition, but a little bit cold, said Staff Sgt. Connie Bias of the U.S. Air Force.

It was the 622 rescue for the the 36th Rescue Flight, which falls under the Air Education & Training Command's 336th training group and is part of Fairchild's Survival, Evasion and Escape School.

n Staff writer Conor Cristofferson contributed to this report.