One of the more funny I guess things that came from this experience was that I have chosen to NEVER camp out in the snow ever again after this experience partly because I came so close to dying during this experience from my point of view.
So, camping in the snow wasn't something I ever wanted to do again. However, I did build snow caves with my children and experimented with candles and air flow and things like this as I told them my story of survival on Mt. Shasta. So, they all know this story quite well as adults.
But, it just made me much more cautious.
Also, this is another true story about an avalanche on Mt. Shasta that I was in.
It was in the 1980s so I would have been in my early 30s likely and at that time I lived in Mt. Shasta with my family (my wife and 3 kids) at that time.
I was skiing in altitude above where Horse Camp lodge was and I traversed over more towards Panther meadows. I had considered going all the way to Panther Meadows spring from Horse Camp by traversing that day I but I was getting tired because of snow conditions so I had started heading down the mountain towards Everitt Memorial highway that I could ski down because the road wasn't open yet that year.
However, I was above the tree line at this point and suddenly all the snow around me for about an acre in all directions took off as an avalanche down the mountain. I was barely able to stay up on top of all this snow moving my moving my skis really fast and poles too to survive this. On top of this i had my shirt off and so I was bare to the waist except for my backpack that I kept my shirt and jacket and wool hat in for storage while skiing.
But, I was worried at this point about 2 things, first the avalanche I was in and 2nd I was moving at around 30 mph towards trees. So, the most pressing worry was that I was going to slam face first into a tree at 30 mph and die. But, luckily, when the leading edge of the avalanche hit the trees it began to slow the avalanche down. So, when the acre of snow finally stopped I hadn't hit any trees yet. But, I was now up to my chest in snow and so I was starting to get cold from the snow up to my chest. Luckily, by struggling I was able to kick my cross country ski tips above the snow and with my poles push myself up on top of the snow once again.
However, having survived all that skiing alone I realized I wasn't ever going to ski like this above tree line ever again. Just like almost freezing to death in a snow cave in 1970 I realized it wasn't safe to ski above tree line because of what I just had experienced either.
When you survive experiences like this you either learn from your near death or you might not survive the next time. So, learning from your mistakes tend to keep you alive for yourself, your family and your friends ongoing. So far I have made it to 74 years of age.
Something to think about.
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