No Chloroform, No Problem: Snowshoe Thompson’s Hardcore Holiday Miracle.
It was the middle of the night, December, deep in the Sierra. Most people were inside, either suffering from cabin fever or praying their roofs wouldn’t collapse under the snow. But not Snowshoe Thompson. He was out doing his usual thing — skiing across a mountain range like it was just a snowy stroll to the mailbox — when he rolled up on what looked like a deserted cabin. As he approached, he thought he heard the painful moaning of a man.
Inside, he found James Sisson, laid out on the floor like a half-frozen rag doll, boots literally frozen to his feet, no blanket, no fire, no food — just raw flour to eat and the consequences of poor decisions that led a man to think he could out-hike a Sierra snowstorm.
Turns out, Sisson had tried to cross the same brutal route Thompson handled like a daily jog. Only problem? Sisson got caught in a storm, holed up in that abandoned shack, and spent twelve days there marinating in misery and gangrene.
Thompson took one look at the guy’s feet and knew they were toast. Black, swollen, frostbitten toast. If they didn’t come off soon, the rest of Sisson would follow. And just to make things festive, it was Christmas Eve.
So, before most people had even yawned and stretched, Thompson was already gone — skiing through a blizzard. He hit Genoa on Christmas Day, rallied five men, loaded up a rescue sled, and slogged back into the whiteout to save a guy most folks would’ve left for dead.
By December 28th, they’d dragged Sisson out of the wilderness and into Carson Valley. But wait — no anesthetic. Apparently, the last of the chloroform had already been used.
So what did Thompson do? He didn’t complain. He didn’t sit around. He took off again — 90 miles to Placerville. No medicine there? Fine. He kept going, another 45 miles on horseback to Sacramento, grabbed what was needed, and turned right back around.
By the end of it, Snowshoe had logged 500 miles in 10 days, with 400 of those on skis or on foot, just to save one guy who thought he could out-tough a mountain.
Sisson survived. In fact, he lived longer than Thompson. But if anyone deserved the extra years, it was the man who skied across hell to bring him back.