With no permission at all from my sis-in-law, Michelle, I stole this straight from her blog...."The Avalanche
I have been debating whether or not to post this on my blog, only because it was such a scary, scary thing for Joel to experience and something to not be taken lightly. Last week he was up in our central mountains snowmobiling with his brothers, Stephen, Tony, Scott and a couple of their friends. They do this trip every year (it's up near Sun Valley) and stay at a really cool lodge for two days/ two nights usually. This last Tuesday afternoon, Joel's brother Scott was caught in this avalanche. He wasn't doing anything crazy or unusual. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Joel had even been up there before him (they all had) luckily though they were only going one at a time. By the time Joel reached him (he was at the bottom, watching, as they all were) they nearly had him dug out. They weren't sure where he landed so Joel and another brother had gone around a different way to look for him there. One of the friends saw his boot sticking up (luckily) although they all wear beacons, but I'm afraid in this case it could have been too late, so thank goodness for his boot showing! When the other guys had got him out of the hole he was not breathing, so Joel grabbed him and started doing mouth-to-mouth while another guy did chest compressions. It took awhile, but his brother Scott is actually just fine. I'm sure it was just a matter of minutes (if not seconds) and the story would have been a lot different. Joel talked to a doctor at church yesterday telling him about it and the doctor told him it was probably the CPR that saved him for sure. Joel luckily had had a "refresher" course lately in Young Men's on how to do mouth-to-mouth. Scott had a hard time coming to and was very scared. They realize how lucky they are to have found him and he did not have any broken bones. It truly is amazing. The same week there were 3 snowmobilers killed in one by Jackson Hole, WY. It scares me to death, although I am so grateful there were so many strong guys there who had the equipment they needed to get Scott out and were prepared in case this DID happen. So, anyway, I post this so that it may be a reminder to all to take precautions, be prepared, and give that loved one one last hug before they leave to go anywhere!"
I have been debating whether or not to post this on my blog, only because it was such a scary, scary thing for Joel to experience and something to not be taken lightly. Last week he was up in our central mountains snowmobiling with his brothers, Stephen, Tony, Scott and a couple of their friends. They do this trip every year (it's up near Sun Valley) and stay at a really cool lodge for two days/ two nights usually. This last Tuesday afternoon, Joel's brother Scott was caught in this avalanche. He wasn't doing anything crazy or unusual. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Joel had even been up there before him (they all had) luckily though they were only going one at a time. By the time Joel reached him (he was at the bottom, watching, as they all were) they nearly had him dug out. They weren't sure where he landed so Joel and another brother had gone around a different way to look for him there. One of the friends saw his boot sticking up (luckily) although they all wear beacons, but I'm afraid in this case it could have been too late, so thank goodness for his boot showing! When the other guys had got him out of the hole he was not breathing, so Joel grabbed him and started doing mouth-to-mouth while another guy did chest compressions. It took awhile, but his brother Scott is actually just fine. I'm sure it was just a matter of minutes (if not seconds) and the story would have been a lot different. Joel talked to a doctor at church yesterday telling him about it and the doctor told him it was probably the CPR that saved him for sure. Joel luckily had had a "refresher" course lately in Young Men's on how to do mouth-to-mouth. Scott had a hard time coming to and was very scared. They realize how lucky they are to have found him and he did not have any broken bones. It truly is amazing. The same week there were 3 snowmobilers killed in one by Jackson Hole, WY. It scares me to death, although I am so grateful there were so many strong guys there who had the equipment they needed to get Scott out and were prepared in case this DID happen. So, anyway, I post this so that it may be a reminder to all to take precautions, be prepared, and give that loved one one last hug before they leave to go anywhere!"
(I wrote this part) Stephen and a friend were the ones that dug him out and I am so thankful that they are smart snomobilers and carry the equipment that they need; beacons, shovels, brains.... I gave Scott a big ol's hug when I saw him on Sunday and said, "good to have you around, glad you're here." and he said, "thank your Stephen..." and Man, I sure do, he's a smart, quick, ready to act and do what is necessary guy. They all are.
This is from the Tri-City Herald article....
Pasco snowmobiler survives avalanche 
By Drew Foster, Herald staff writer (Scott is pictured on the right)
Scott Ashton of Pasco, right, was saved by friends, including Sam Harker of Pasco, after being trapped in an avalanche during a snowmobiling trip Tuesday. While “high-marking” a slope near Featherville, Idaho, Ashton started an avalanche and was buried. Fortunately, his foot was sticking out of the snow and he was quickly found by his friends and brothers and revived.
All it took was 60 seconds.
Buried in an ice-packed coffin, Scott Ashton struggled to control his breathing. Unable to move, he concentrated on each gasp for air.
"I couldn't catch my breath," the Pasco man said Friday. "I knew I needed to slow my breathing, but I couldn't. It was like someone was sitting on my chest."
Trapped, upside down, unable to move and breathing out of control, Ashton faded out of consciousness in about a minute.
With a single foot sticking out of the snow, his brothers and friends were able to find him and start digging.
Every minute counted.
Ashton, a 33-year-old financial adviser, spent nearly 10 minutes buried in snow after being swallowed by a snowmobile-triggered avalanche in Idaho earlier this week. Unconscious, his colleagues dug him out and breathed life back into him.
"If they hadn't been prepared, I wouldn't have made it," he said.
Ashton was snowmobiling with four friends and three brothers Tuesday in Featherville, Idaho. After hours spent traversing Idaho's snow-blanketed backcountry, the crew began climbing a hill in the afternoon. For about 15 minutes, Ashton said, they took turns dashing toward its pinnacle.
"We just came to this one particular spot and didn't think too much of it," Ashton said. "I didn't think it was too bad."
He said conditions were favorable -- no drastic temperature changes, not too much fresh, unsettled snow -- so he decided to climb and followed the hill's ridgeline. He noticed it was wind-loaded, an area where snow blew over the hill's crest, accumulating in unstable piles.
"You want to stay away from areas where wind blows the snow," said his brother, Tony Ashton of Othello.
As his sibling rode, Tony said he watched the snow crumble behind Scott, saw the fast-moving avalanche envelope his brother. The rushing snow settled in two areas, one near the top of the hill, the other toward the bottom where Tony and the others -- Joel Ashton of Rexburg, Idaho; Stephen Ashton of Moses Lake; Dan Hatch and Sam Harker of Pasco; and Jim Hayhurst and Mike Cercheck of Pine, Idaho -- watched.
"My first thought is that it was a race against the clock," Tony said, adding that the group had about 10 to 15 minutes to rescue Scott. The thought of never seeing his brother alive again crossed Tony's mind, but didn't linger.
One group raced to the upper area. Tony, 36, searched for his brother below.
Six years ago, Tony was buried in an avalanche. Scott was one of the people who pulled his unresponsive body from the snow. Tony was prepared to do the same, but by the time he headed uphill, the others already had dug Scott out.
"The first thing that went through my mind is this can't be happening again," Stephen Ashton said. "When I realized it was Scott, my brain kind of stopped working."
Cercheck and Joel Ashton performed CPR, with Joel lending his breath to his brother's lifeless body. Stephen held his brother's head.
"When they got me out, they said I was in shock for about 10 minutes," Scott said. "I could hear myself screaming. I screamed for probably 10 minutes. I couldn't control my body. ... It was probably worse on the people digging me out than it was on me."
"It's still a little bit surreal," Stephen said Friday. "That part was pretty gnarly."
Stephen had trouble talking about the avalanche, looking at his brother's blue face, hearing Scott scream.
"It's pretty hard to get over," he said.
Sitting on a snow-laden hill in Idaho, with Scott fully conscious, the group prayed. They thanked God for saving their brother, their friend.
Again.
Scott, Stephen, Tony and Harker attributed Scott's rescue to preparedness. They carried beacons, shovels and probes. They knew CPR.
"I think anybody in the backcountry needs to be prepared," Scott said.
Stephen added that a little luck was probably involved too.
"As bad as it went," he said, "it couldn't have gone any better."
By Drew Foster, Herald staff writer (Scott is pictured on the right)Scott Ashton of Pasco, right, was saved by friends, including Sam Harker of Pasco, after being trapped in an avalanche during a snowmobiling trip Tuesday. While “high-marking” a slope near Featherville, Idaho, Ashton started an avalanche and was buried. Fortunately, his foot was sticking out of the snow and he was quickly found by his friends and brothers and revived.
All it took was 60 seconds.
Buried in an ice-packed coffin, Scott Ashton struggled to control his breathing. Unable to move, he concentrated on each gasp for air.
"I couldn't catch my breath," the Pasco man said Friday. "I knew I needed to slow my breathing, but I couldn't. It was like someone was sitting on my chest."
Trapped, upside down, unable to move and breathing out of control, Ashton faded out of consciousness in about a minute.
With a single foot sticking out of the snow, his brothers and friends were able to find him and start digging.
Every minute counted.
Ashton, a 33-year-old financial adviser, spent nearly 10 minutes buried in snow after being swallowed by a snowmobile-triggered avalanche in Idaho earlier this week. Unconscious, his colleagues dug him out and breathed life back into him.
"If they hadn't been prepared, I wouldn't have made it," he said.
Ashton was snowmobiling with four friends and three brothers Tuesday in Featherville, Idaho. After hours spent traversing Idaho's snow-blanketed backcountry, the crew began climbing a hill in the afternoon. For about 15 minutes, Ashton said, they took turns dashing toward its pinnacle.
"We just came to this one particular spot and didn't think too much of it," Ashton said. "I didn't think it was too bad."
He said conditions were favorable -- no drastic temperature changes, not too much fresh, unsettled snow -- so he decided to climb and followed the hill's ridgeline. He noticed it was wind-loaded, an area where snow blew over the hill's crest, accumulating in unstable piles.
"You want to stay away from areas where wind blows the snow," said his brother, Tony Ashton of Othello.
As his sibling rode, Tony said he watched the snow crumble behind Scott, saw the fast-moving avalanche envelope his brother. The rushing snow settled in two areas, one near the top of the hill, the other toward the bottom where Tony and the others -- Joel Ashton of Rexburg, Idaho; Stephen Ashton of Moses Lake; Dan Hatch and Sam Harker of Pasco; and Jim Hayhurst and Mike Cercheck of Pine, Idaho -- watched.
"My first thought is that it was a race against the clock," Tony said, adding that the group had about 10 to 15 minutes to rescue Scott. The thought of never seeing his brother alive again crossed Tony's mind, but didn't linger.
One group raced to the upper area. Tony, 36, searched for his brother below.
Six years ago, Tony was buried in an avalanche. Scott was one of the people who pulled his unresponsive body from the snow. Tony was prepared to do the same, but by the time he headed uphill, the others already had dug Scott out.
"The first thing that went through my mind is this can't be happening again," Stephen Ashton said. "When I realized it was Scott, my brain kind of stopped working."
Cercheck and Joel Ashton performed CPR, with Joel lending his breath to his brother's lifeless body. Stephen held his brother's head.
"When they got me out, they said I was in shock for about 10 minutes," Scott said. "I could hear myself screaming. I screamed for probably 10 minutes. I couldn't control my body. ... It was probably worse on the people digging me out than it was on me."
"It's still a little bit surreal," Stephen said Friday. "That part was pretty gnarly."
Stephen had trouble talking about the avalanche, looking at his brother's blue face, hearing Scott scream.
"It's pretty hard to get over," he said.
Sitting on a snow-laden hill in Idaho, with Scott fully conscious, the group prayed. They thanked God for saving their brother, their friend.
Again.
Scott, Stephen, Tony and Harker attributed Scott's rescue to preparedness. They carried beacons, shovels and probes. They knew CPR.
"I think anybody in the backcountry needs to be prepared," Scott said.
Stephen added that a little luck was probably involved too.
"As bad as it went," he said, "it couldn't have gone any better."
11 comments:
Wow. This is absolutely crazy.
What a bad thing to happen but thanks to the knowledge and the power of prayer that I am sure was uttered by all in their minds it turned out to be a great learning experience for all to always be prepared no matter what you do. Prepardness is part of the plan. Oh I am so glad that everything turned out OK. It is so nice for brothers to do things together. Family is so important.
I know that the angels of heaven are contantly watching over us. I also know that when it is our time we will be called home. But meanwhile, we cling to life! What a blessing that they were able to dig him out and knew cpr! Thanks for posting this!
Oh I'm so sorry that they had to even experience that. I'm so glad everything turned out okay.
Oh man, Korbi. I'm so happy and relieved for everyone in this story. So glad Stephen is who he is and knows what he knows. Whew.
That must have been so scary for them.It was scary just reading it. I think they all need to stay away from snowy mountains. I'm glad everyone is ok.
Just caught the pickle elevators! Thanks for bringing memories back of grandparents for me!
Korbi - I can't believe it but Twylla missed both of our Happy Birthday Blogs. I told her to go back and read them - I guess we didn't need to be in such a hurry! She said she saw my Anniversary blog and your Avalanche and Cute Kids but didn't look further down.
That's so scary. Good thing they're all livin right if you know what I mean...
Whoooooa. I got goose bumps just reading the re-telling, I can't even imagine living it. I'm very happy they're all here today.
WOW. that is way to long to read... who wants to read about a bunch of brothers that should be home with there wife and kids but instead are living the life playing on there sleds...... jk. (im the sister i can tell them they should stay home right) Love ya Korbi...
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