Bill Clark of Bellevue celebrated his 68th birthday this year aboard a rescue helicopter high above the North Cascade Wilderness.

The helicopter flew him to safety after he broke his leg while hiking in North Cascades National Park the day before. Clark, along with his hiking partner, Lee Sundquist, were just 2,000 feet from the trailhead in the Eldorado Creek Drainage when Clark slipped while maneuvering around boulders.

The pair had spent the past five days hiking the Inspiration Glacier Traverse, a challenging glacier trek in the Northern Cascades.

“Bill fell and broke his leg in the boulder field as we were nearing the end,” Sundquist explained. “We were exhausted and the rocks were slick.”

With extensive mountaineer training, Sundquist splintered his friend’s leg using his ski poles, built a resting place, and placed two days worth of food and water within arm’s reach. Sundquist then hiked the rest of the way to the car and drove to the nearest ranger station to report the injury.

“I was hesitant to leave Bill in the wilderness, but he insisted I go and get help,” Sundquist said. “When I reached the ranger station I broke down crying because I was worried about my friend. I knew he was going to be all right, but it was still a scary situation. In all the years we have hiked together, we have never had any serious injuries.”

Clark, a long-time Scoutmaster, has trained and led numerous extreme hikes over the past decade. He created a Venture Group based on mountaineering in the late ’90s and has led more than 40 Scouts to the top of Mt. Rainier successfully.

“Bill is an amazing mountaineer and skilled climber. This was purely a case of exhaustion and slick conditions,” Sundquist said.

District Ranger Kelly Bush was on duty when Sundquist reached the ranger center. She sent Wilderness Ranger Kip Beckwith to locate Clark and sit with him through the night until a helicopter could be sent to pick them both up the following day.

The helicopter rescued Clark after first rescuing another climber who had been marooned in a cave for four days. Clark was brought to the ranger station to speak with rangers, then taken to a hospital.

“Bill will be out for about eight weeks but we’ll hit the mountains again soon,” Sundquist said. “We just love it up there. I’ll just have to keep Bill on the trails this time,” he added, with a laugh.

Lindsay Larin can be reached at 425.453.4602.