Westport teen Sam Boas helps save victim of grizzly attack. The kids were almost done with their National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) course in Alaska, doing a solo walkout to a trail head when they were attacked by a momma grizzly with her club. Four were badly mauled. Sam, trained as an EMT just this year, stayed with a state trooper overnight with the worst injured of the students while others were evacuated ( a better equipped aircraft was required to fly out the last). Good for Mr. Boas.
I’m a NOLS graduate myself (1973) and my daughter Sarah graduated in, I think, 2007. It’s a great organization, geared to train students so that they can lead other, less experienced people on wilderness trips, but they don’t call it “wilderness” for nothing. I’d assume that, as I did when hiking with my kids at Glacier, they carried one of those half/fire hydrant-sized cans of pepper spray but having never been charged by a grizzly, I have no idea how much time one has to unclip the device from my belt and begin spraying – probably not much.
In any event, good job by this Westport teenager.
Such is life in the wilderness. I don’t see anyone to blame or second-quess in this. I hope the boys recover quickly and fully.
My sentiments exactly, Riverslide.