Science teacher Matt Palubinskas sat in his office, finishing up work after a long day of teaching physics and engineering. That’s when his phone buzzed with a text requesting his help on a mission near Snoqualmie Pass.
It was a cool and clear winter night on Dec. 3, 2014, as Palubinskas and his team from Seattle Mountain Rescue hiked through the backcountry, occasionally calling out.
“We didn’t have the exact coordinates of the person,” Palubinskas said. “So, every now and then, we’d just stop and yell and wait for a response.”
Eventually, they found the injured climber, and Palubinskas was the EMT on the scene.
“I determined that his injury was really serious, and he had lost sensation and movement in his lower body,” Palubinskas said. “Over the radio, we explained the situation, and it just so happened to be a night that the sheriff could get the helicopter.”
The helicopter was able to come quickly due to the lack of demand from other sheriff’s departments.
“The sound of the helicopter is very distinct,” Palubinskas said. “It was hovering about 200 feet above us, and its rotors are so powerful that it just sprays the snow up. The snow had such low water content, which is like dust. And I remember, the snow would just get everywhere, and it was whipping everywhere.”
Seattle Mountain Rescue works for the King County Sheriff, meaning that sometimes they have access to their helicopters.
“There’s a lot of reasons why you might not be able to get a helicopter,” Palubinskas said. “One of the biggest reasons is weather. The helicopter only flies in certain weather, but it was a clear night and it was cold, so that’s good for helicopters.”
Palubinskas is a field member, meaning he’s up to date on all his training. He received his EMT education 15 years ago and participates in quarterly drills. After 12 years of volunteering with Seattle Mountain Rescue, Palubinskas has figured out how to balance it with other aspects of his life.
“I think everyone has to prioritize what’s important in their life,” Palubinskas said. “I make a decision to help people, and I might get busier the next day because I couldn’t prep a meal for the next few days. But it’s a good feeling when you can work with a team of people that you train with to help someone that needs help.”
Palubinskas finds that his day job as a teacher and his volunteering as an EMT compliment each other.
“Every mission that we go out on, there are problems to solve, and there are problems to solve in a group. You have to collaborate with people, and you have to have that collaboration dialed,” Palubinskas said. “It’s definitely increased my patience and empathy for folks that are under stress. I have a lot of practice collaborating during stressful situations. So all these things are directly applicable to teach in the sciences.”
He goes out on one to three missions per month in addition to three days of training. To him, the work is extremely meaningful.
“Our motto is ‘everyone comes home from the backcountry,’” Palubinskas said. “It’s a really good feeling that you get, working with a team of people you know really well, that you train with all the time, that are your friends, that share this passion for being in the mountains. And then you pair that with helping people in need–that gives you a really good feeling.”
