A 27 yr old snowboarder skied past several ski area boundary signs in a heavy overcast/fog from Wolverine Saddle at about 11:30 AM. After skiing down almost to Whiskey Creek, he was lucky to get cell phone reception and be relayed to Alpine Patrol. From his description, patrol did not think he was too far down and sent a patroller on AT gear with skins and snowshoes to hike him out. After following the track to the snowboarder's position and realizing it was going to be a longer and harder hike out than expected, patrol called for assistance from TNSAR. 5 skiers responded with a better pair of snowshoes and lots of candy bars which made a noticeable difference in the progress up the backside of Alpine Meadows. All members were out of the field, eating pizza and drinking beer in the Patrol office by 5:00 pm.