SEATTLE -- A Seattle cardiologist is back at home, even back at work, after disappearing on Mount Adams for more than 48 hours.
A search-and-rescue team found Dr. Peter Baciewicz, 55, late Tuesday.
Baciewicz is an experienced climber who scaled Mount Kilimanjaro in the late 1980s. But he admits to being "too casual" by not preparing enough for Mount Adams, the second largest mountain in Washington.
"The wilderness is the wilderness, and it can bite you if things go wrong," Baciewicz said from his Queen Anne home Wednesday.
He was touring the mountain on skis with a friend Sunday when they accidentally separated.
"I made a subtle turn decision that was the wrong turn decision," he said. "When you're in the wilderness -- and I didn't quite appreciate this because I'm used to just downhill skiing -- a mile off, you're lost. And I was lost."
The doctor had plenty of bottles for water, along with an ice axe to help him navigate steep territory. He did not know his location on the mountain, so he figured the smartest move was to head downhill toward civilization.
Baciewicz eventually found a road, which lead him to the rescue team.
"My first thought was, 'Hey! Could you guys help me out? I've been lost for a bit,'" he said. "And they go, 'Are you the lost guy?' I go, 'Yeah, that's me.'"
He returned home Tuesday night to find the latest copy of Outside Magazine in his mailbox. The cover boldly asked, "Could you survive? How to endure your worst case scenario."
"I kind of know," he said after looking at the magazine cover. "I've learned from practical experience."
Baciewicz is a cardiologist at Seattle's Polyclinic.
