Friday, February 24, 2023

being in the middle of an avalanche above tree line in the 1980s on metal edged Cross Country skis

 

Showing posts sorted by relevance for query my avalanche experience. Sort by date Show all posts

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

The man was knocked unconscious by Avalanche but they found his snowboard with him attached

  • This is the most interesting Avalanche story I've seen this year where the people actually all survived it. I have my own story of being in an avalanche too in the 1980s. I was alone and survived it on mt. Shasta luckily too.

  • My story is that I was skiing on Mt. Shasta around 9000 to 10,000 feet alone. I was in my 30s then and it was about this time of year too, where it was warm enough to ski with my shirt off so I was doing that. Then all of a sudden an acre of snow started moving with me in the middle of it.

  • I didn't think I would survive this but I was young and strong enough to go into overdrive trying to stay on top of the acre of snow moving towards the tree line below. The front part of the acre of snow hit the trees really hard and at first I thought I might be thrown into the side of a tree and killed but luckily that didn't happen and when the front part of the avalanche hit the trees it slowed it down (the mass of snow moving). It didn't knock any trees down the trees slowed the front end of the avalanche down. And when it finally stopped moving down Mt. Shasta I had moved with the avalanche at least 2000 to 3000 feet sideways and down from where I had been skiing. I went into overdrive trying to stay on top of the snow with my cross country skis. I succeeded enough not to die that day and was almost up to my neck in snow with my shirt off so it was cold. But, I could dig my way out of there and ski away from the loose snow okay. The snow was still 10 to 20 feet deep where I was but if you are wearing skis in most conditions you can stay on top of the snow when it is not moving in an avalanche so I was really grateful to be alive and decided that day not to ski alone above Tree line in the Spring any more which is a rule I have followed ever since that experience. 

  • In life you either learn from your experiences you survive or else you aren't alive very long.

  • begin quote from:

  • Buried alive: Video shows man's rescue after avalanche
    As she helped Huck, Turning's boyfriend, Michael Parker, shot video of the rescue effort ... had been snowboarding when the avalanche "slammed into …
    Snowboarders Rescue Man Buried Alive In Sierra Avalanche
    The avalanche swallowed Evan Huck Friday, trapping him beneath feet of snow. As Huck lost consciousness, quick thinking snowboarders …
  • Snowboarders Rescue Man Buried Alive In Sierra Avalanche ...

    sacramento.cbslocal.com/...rush-to-dig...sierra-avalanche-squaw-rescue
    Mar 05, 2018 · The avalanche swallowed Evan Huck Friday, trapping him beneath feet of snow. As Huck lost consciousness, quick thinking snowboarders rushed over to …
  • WATCH: Dramatic video of snow rescue following avalanche ...

    ussanews.com/News1/2018/03/...video-of-snow-rescue-following-avalanche
    Mar 05, 2018 · Videos show the dramatic rescue. The encased man, Evan Huck, is bu. ... Here is the Squaw avalanche rescue from higher up on the mountain.
  • Buried alive: Video shows man's rescue after avalanche


    In this photo provided by the Heavenly Mountain Resort, fresh snow covers most of a table and chairs Friday, March 2, 2018, in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. A blizzard warning was in effect for parts of the Sierra Nevada, where snow was piling up and travThe Associated Press
    In this photo provided by the Heavenly Mountain Resort, fresh snow covers most of a table and chairs Friday, March 2, 2018, in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. A blizzard warning was in effect for parts of the Sierra Nevada, where snow was piling up and travel was difficult due to repeated highway closures and the need for chains in many places. The snow will help the Sierra snowpack, which is vital to the state's water supply and has only been about a quarter of its normal depth for this time of winter. It's also a boon for skiers and snowboarders. (Heavenly Mountain Resort via AP)more +
    Dramatic video taken by a snowboarder shows the aftermath of an avalanche in Northern California, with people furiously digging out a man buried alive under snow.
    One of the videos, released to The Associated Press on Monday, begins with a woman lying on the encased man, Evan Huck. She carefully clears snow from his face as others work to free his body using their hands and shovels.
    "Just keep digging around him," someone says. "He's breathing."
    Another man says: "Whoever spotted that snowboard sticking out, good job."
    Heather Turning, a Roseville, California resident, who was snowboarding at Squaw Valley Ski Resort when the avalanche hit on Friday, helped dig Huck out and said that the whole time he kept asking if his wife was OK.
    As she helped Huck, Turning's boyfriend, Michael Parker, shot video of the rescue effort. In a second video Parker released to The Associated Press, Huck's wife can be heard pleading, "Please, please, please," praying for her husband to live.
    Parker said when he first saw Huck trapped in the snow he thought the worst.
    "His lips were blue," Parker said. "For a second I thought, 'Oh gosh, I think he's gone, but as soon as I got closer I was like, 'No, he's good, he's good."
    Huck's wife, Kahlynn Huck, had been buried nearly up to her neck but was able to eventually free herself while the others helped her husband.
    Kahlynn Huck said in an Instagram post that she and her husband had been snowboarding when the avalanche "slammed into our backs and tossed us down mountain."
    "It was six minutes until Evan was uncovered and he had passed out from lack of oxygen shortly after burial," she wrote. "He came to on his own again once the rescuer was touching his cheeks."
    Kahlynn Huck credited the ski resort's rescuers and all the regular skiers and snowboarders like Turning who helped her husband.
    "You are heroes and we're eternally grateful," she said.
    Parker said the videos he shot showed the best of humanity and that he's grateful everyone is OK, especially after witnessing the avalanche.
    "I saw it coming," Parker said. "It's everything you ever imagined — every movie and Discovery Channel show. You couldn't think or hear, you just hold on for dear life."
    He added: "We were literally one foot away from getting swept away."
    Although five people were buried by the avalanche, everyone survived and only one person had serious injuries.
    Another avalanche hit Saturday at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, about 170 miles southeast of Squaw Valley, partially burying three people. There were no injuries.
    Heavy storms in recent days have dumped more than 6 feet of snow in some of California's higher elevations.
     

  • Tuesday, November 8, 2022

    Learning to survive in snowy situations

     regarding this link or word button:

    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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