How L.A. snowboarder, with no phone and wearing a hoodie, survived 2 nights in frigid mountains

Malachi Luis Garcia told deputies he stayed alive for two nights lost in the freezing, snowy San Gabriel Mountains — without a winter coat or food or camping supplies — by doing his best to keep moving, and using large trees for shelter.

“Basically, he was just moving around to try to stay warm and trying not to freeze,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Casey Cheshier, who rescued Garcia on Tuesday morning after spotting his footprints more than two miles south of Mountain High Resort, where he was last seen snowboarding with friends Sunday afternoon.

“He wasn’t really dressed for prolonged exposure — he was lucky,” said Cheshier, who works on the agency’s special enforcement bureau, which responds to emergency rescues. “It was very bad conditions, especially for what he was wearing and what he had on him.”

Garcia, 35, was dressed in a T-shirt, a hoodie, snow pants and boots, Cheshier said. He had his snowboard with him, as well as gloves and a hat, but no working phone or other supplies.

“He was uninjured but really tired, really exhausted and really cold,” Cheshier said. “It was down in the single digits overnight.”

Deputy Casey Cheshier secures Malachi Luis Garcia in a helicopter following his rescue in the San Gabriel Mountains on Tuesday.

(Tim Hauser)

After an intensive search operation that lasted almost 48 hours, officials said the outcome could easily have been tragic. Mountain High recorded more than a foot of fresh powder by early Monday, with heavy snowfall diminishing visibility and causing icy conditions both Sunday and Monday. Dozens of search teams fanned out across the mountain beginning Sunday afternoon — not long after Garcia was reported missing — using drones and devices that can detect heat, said Deputy Orlando Martinez, a coordinator for the sheriff’s Antelope Valley search-and-rescue team.

“We had about 40 search and rescue members [from] throughout the state,” Martinez said. “We want to make sure we get him while he’s still alive, due to the weather.”

But because of the treacherous conditions, helicopters weren’t able to get in the air until Tuesday, and cellphone pings were essentially useless because there weren’t enough towers in the remote area to zero in on a location — though it turned out Garcia’s phone was still in his vehicle parked at the ski resort, Martinez said.

But soon after a rescue helicopter took to the sky Tuesday morning, Cheshier said, they spotted footprints in the snow near Cabin Flat campground just southwest of Wrightwood — though all trails and amenities were covered in snow, he said.

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“We conducted an aerial search following the tracks and followed them for about two miles,” he said. Around 9:30 a.m., Cheshier dropped from the helicopter after spotting someone in a canyon not far from the snowline.

“He wasn’t panicking, but he was a little emotional and just relieved,” Cheshier said. The Times could not immediately get in touch with Garcia, but Cheshier said he appeared physically OK. Garcia was transported to a local medical facility for evaluation due to his long exposure to the elements.

Officials estimated Garcia probably walked more than two miles and descended at least 1,300 feet in elevation.

Martinez said Garcia was found in Bear Gulch, often called a “canyon to nowhere.”

“There’s no way out,” he said. “Everything else is just uphill.”

Garcia, who was a season-pass holder at Mountain High, told officials that he’d been snowboarding behind some friends on Sunday — when visibility from the storm was low — and somehow took a wrong turn, ending up alone.

He tried to find his way back, but the storm made it difficult.

“He was drinking stream water during the day and would just hunker down next to big trees at night to stay warm,” Martinez said. When the worst of the storm cleared Tuesday morning, he started walking around as much as possible to leave tracks — which ended up saving him.

Although Martinez’s team has, on other occasions, rescued hikers and skiers after days in the freezing wilderness, these people typically have had frostbite or some serious health issues, Martinez said.

But he said Garcia appeared to be in good shape.

“He’s not dressed appropriately, he didn’t have a proper [waterproof] shell … just a cotton hoodie,” Martinez said. “It’s a miracle. ... Not a scratch on him.”