# Holy crap! Luckiest man on the planet!



## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

CAIC: Colorado Avalanche Information Center

Accident Summary

A lone skier triggered, was caught, & buried in a small soft slab.

A car was parked on the side of Monarch Pass. The driver watched a skier cut into "Gun Shot Cut Bank", trigger a soft slab avalanche, get caught and get buried. The driver grabbed a shovel and jumped out of his car and ran over to the debris pile. There was a ski pole sticking out of the debris and the driver went to that and dug the skier out. No injuries were reported. Initial reports have the skier buried about 3 feet deep.

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No doubt, that dude cheated death. Lucky as all hell.


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## mani (Feb 6, 2010)

Holy cow. Lucky is right. I wonder how far the car was away from where he went down, I mean I doubt he could see the pole from the car. 

Get that man a lottery ticket and a beer.


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## mbesp (Jan 30, 2009)

man talk about best situation ever for that guy.
I bet before he realized that guy was there to dig him out he was pooping his pants.


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## PaintedPony (Jan 20, 2011)

Skier was near one of the interstates which is how the driver saw him. Skier was truly blessed to be rescued so quickly.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

PaintedPony said:


> Skier was near one of the interstates which is how the driver saw him. Skier was truly blessed to be rescued so quickly.


Interstate? No. 

If you're on Monarch Pass, you're a LONG way from an interstate.


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## schmitty34 (Dec 28, 2007)

mbesp said:


> man talk about best situation ever for that guy.
> I bet before he realized that guy was there to dig him out he was pooping his pants.


Holy crap, if the guy knows even the slightest thing about avalanches, I'm sure he was 100% sure he was dead.

I can’t even fathom what I would be thinking in that situation. Once he realized he was buried and couldn’t move, the minutes leading up until he first heard the guy digging him out must have been scary as hell thinking he only had several minutes until his last breath. 

That would be the type of experience that would change your outlook on life.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

schmitty34 said:


> That would be the type of experience that would change your outlook on life.


Absolutely.

I guarantee you that if he has two brain cells to rub together that he doesn't go in the BC alone again. This is obviously a situation where a knowledgeable partner with gear would've likely been able to very easily recover him. The fact that someone pulled over at an overlook just happened to see him go down and actually have the presence of mind to realize that he was in trouble and to go help is just 100% pure horseshit luck. 

Unfortunately, the most recent death at Berthoud Pass was very similar. Another shallow burial that likely would've resulted in a terrifying situation but a relatively easy recovery if only they'd had gear and been prepared to use it.


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## schmitty34 (Dec 28, 2007)

linvillegorge said:


> The fact that someone pulled over at an overlook just happened to see him go down and actually have the presence of mind to realize that he was in trouble and to go help is just 100% pure horseshit luck.


Not to mention that the driver had a shovel in his car. If I was the driver and wasn't on my way to do a little BC riding I wouldn't have had a shovel in my car. I doubt hand digging would have done the job. Crazy situation.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

Gives me chills just thinking about this... lucky motherfucker. The stars all aligned for this guy. I hope he realizes that this was "his Shit" as they said in training day.... when ethan hawk sas gonna get his head blown off but was saved by the fact that he saved the guys niece earlier that day.


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## Triple8Sol (Nov 24, 2008)

That's incredible. The rescued skiier needs to put the rescuer on his Christmas card list for sure!


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## Tarzanman (Dec 20, 2008)

Not only is that guy lucky that someone was near him. Not only is he lucky that the guy near him saw him. He is also lucky that the guy who was near him and saw him had a f*%($ shovel with him at the time.


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