Skiers rescued from Glacier's backcountry

A Kalispell couple apparently miscalculated the length of a ski trip in Glacier National Park's remote North Fork country Jan. 14 and ended up spending a cold night in the woods.

Mark Brust, 46, and Signe Brust, 39, intended to ski from Polebridge to Bowman Lake, then up and over Numa Ridge into the Akokala Creek drainage and then back to Polebridge on the Inside North Fork Road.

The couple apparently thought the trip was just 10 miles long, North Fork district ranger Scott Emmerich said, but the route is actually 22 miles long.

At 8 p.m. Saturday, the couple sent a 911 signal using a Spot messenger device notifying officials they were lost.

Getting lost in that area is easy to do, Emmerich noted, because the area burned over during the Wedge Canyon Fire, and the trail is often obscured by thick lodgepole pine. The couple ended up in the Parke Creek drainage instead, but they were prepared with material to make a fire so they could survive the night.

Poor weather and difficult trail conditions delayed the search until early Sunday morning, and travel was slow going, with rotten snow 18-24 inches deep.

Park rangers and staff began skiing and snowshoeing in from the Bowman Lake side, while Flathead Search and Rescue personnel came in from the Akokala side.

When the weather cleared, the ALERT helicopter flew into the area based on the Spot signal and found the couple. The crew hiked about a half mile from the landing zone and treated the couple.

Bad weather forced the helicopter to leave, but when it cleared again, they retrieved the couple and dropped them off near the Polebridge Mercantile about 2 p.m. Sunday. The Brusts returned home in their own vehicle, no worse for the wear.

Emmerich advises visitors heading into the North Fork backcountry to check with the ranger station first, especially on extended trips or if they're heading into unfamiliar country.