Historical data shows that people buried in the snow have an 80% chance of survival if found in the first 10 to 15 minutes, unless there was lethal trauma. At the 30-minute mark, likelihood of survival falls to 3%. In this case, two snowmobilers had triggered an avalanche near Vail Pass, and one was lost in the snow. The other was scouring the white powdered landscape for signs of his friend. Unsuccessful, he dialed 911.

Race Against the Clock

By the time Summit County Rescue Group received his call, 15 minutes had already passed since the avalanche. Rescue volunteers switched on their avalanche transceivers and started up the mountain, but they weren’t getting any signals. They worried the buried snowmobiler wasn’t wearing a beacon.

Almost an hour later, SCRG volunteers spotted a man in the distance desperately probing the snow. Sergeant Watson started to radio command with an update: this was now a recovery mission.

Just then, SCRG volunteer Dave Wandel stopped in the snow and began digging. “Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a little bit of orange and debris that grabbed my attention,” he recalled. “I went over to it and, with my foot, dug down. Sure enough, it was an airbag.”

The rescuers continued to dig down until they hit something hard: a helmet. They slowed for a moment, trying to figure out which way the man’s face was directed so they could try to create an airway for him.

Sergeant Watson yelled out, “Are you alive?”

The Response and the Rescue

Miraculously, the team received a response. The buried man was conscious. In that moment, their mission shifted from body recovery to patient care, and SCRG focused on getting the man warm and checking for broken bones.

From the time of burial to uncovering, the snowmobiler had been trapped for about 70 minutes. Against all odds and the stats they’d learned to live by, the SCRG volunteers had pulled the snowmobiler from the ground still breathing. Matt Parker, a mission coordinator with Summit County Rescue Group, admitted he was shocked when the radio call came in from Sergeant Watson confirming a probe strike.

The snowmobiler was kept overnight for observation and released the next day in stable condition.

Safe Journeys is a series that unveils the humanity behind public safety, as men and women share their journeys of protection, empathy, resilience, and who they are beyond the badge. View all Safe Journeys stories here.