Skier missing overnight at Crystal Mountain found safe

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN, Wash. – An avid skier who was missing overnight at Crystal Mountain Resort was found safe Monday after he managed to make his way to a closed section of highway and texted his wife for help.

The 52-year-old Seattle resident reunited with his family and was being checked out by medical staff, resort spokeswoman Tiana Anderson said. The temperature dropped to 16 degrees overnight.

“He looks to be happy and healthy and back with his family getting warmed up,” Anderson said.

The man, a season-pass holder at Crystal, had been skiing with one of his sons and his son’s friends Sunday when he decided to go on his own to take a run in some expert terrain on the south side of the resort. He somehow dropped out of bounds and wound up in neighboring Mount Rainier National Park.

The group reported him missing at 3:30 p.m. Sunday when he failed to meet up with them. The ski patrol began searching for him, continuing until 10 p.m. and then resuming at 7 a.m., Anderson said.

The man made his way to Highway 410, which closes past the resort’s entrance every winter due to the buildup of snow, and kept walking until he found a cellphone signal and texted his wife at 11:30 a.m.

Ski patrol members reached him by snowmobile.

Anderson said she didn’t know whether he kept moving through the night or made a shelter.

“It’s not often you see a happy ending like this,” Anderson said. “We’re overjoyed.”