catinthehat
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[h=5]Tracey Telford[/h]January 5 at 11:51am ·
I often wondered why some people in the same accident live & others die....Sometimes, I think it's crazy that I somehow beat the odds & survived an avalanche while my fiance, Butch did not. As my machine was being lifted & moved by the thundering wave of snow I wondered what to do, I had just waved him to 'get going fast' grabbed the handles to hang on and heard the word "swim" somewhere above my head. I looked back to where he was and he was gone & the waves were bigger and faster....I chose not to let go of my machine, it was buried and the snow that felt like extra thick cement settled around my chest. I sat there listening to the heavy silence, waiting for him to call my name, yet knowing deep inside that I would never hear his voice again....I called & called and called to him.....I dug the rest of my body out & set out to search, crawled across to where I had seen him last, crawled around in the dark all over the mass. Went back to where he had been and dug a 6ft + hole, it was so deep....I heard a noise and my heart pounded with a false hope that it was his sled, but now I was stuck in this hole, clawing at the sides to get up and out, I realized that i needed 'steps' in it to get to the surface, built them and got out. The silence, once again overwhelming, I realized the 'noise' was another avalanche & I was just lucky enough that it did not drop on me as I was deep in that hole.....I have often thought of that hole as my grave, I dug my own grave that night. And no, no one knew where we were.....I had only my hands to dig with, I kept calm and when I got too hot I took the neck warmer and other things off but shoved them inside my other gear to be sure not to lose them, as I knew it was going to be a long night & long hike out. I dug many other holes, not so big...eventually sat on the edge of it and said my 'goodbyes' (a word I have not used since) hiked out 5+miles, got help & led them back in. Butch was found, with one hand 2 inches from the surface, his machine on top of him at the bottom of the avalanche, an area that when I considered searching made my stomach knot up & so I never went there.....he had no ice mask, which means that the wind was knocked out of him and he never took another breath....I wonder if he heard me calling him.........I wonder if I had a shovel if I would have dug more holes....I KNOW if I had had a probe I would have covered the entire area and found him. I KNOW if we had had beacons I would have saved his life....he wasn't that far away OR buried deep** I don't really wonder so much anymore, he was called to do greater things & I was meant to be here. I have fun memories & love in my heart, gratitude for being given the little bit of time we had.** Seems to me there is more snow this year, probably not but uggghhh its been snowing every frikn day lol, man sometimes I just hate winter, I wish it would rain but thats what caused the poor riding conditions that we never should have been out in....Do you have a beacon, probe, shovel, inflatable vest, knowledge of how to lay a grid ....do you know CPR.....do your friends.....I would hope that everyone I know does....it actually can happen to you. **sharing in hopes of touching some one some where enough to inspire them to ride safer** I had NO idea my story would be shared SO many times, I am overwhelmed with gratitude! I appreciate all of you who choose to 'be the light' for your family & friends!! ** the heli could not fly, too foggy, I had to wait for a police dog (incredible to see them work) he found Butch in less than a minute! One of Butches best friends was an EMT & did CPR for 5+miles on him, on a toboggan being pulled by a sled I watched them 'shock' him 3 times on the way to a hospital 30 mi out...I have since become an EMT heart emoticon #avalanchesurvivor #avalanche #sledding #snowmobiling
[h=5]Tracey Telford[/h]January 5 at 11:51am ·
I often wondered why some people in the same accident live & others die....Sometimes, I think it's crazy that I somehow beat the odds & survived an avalanche while my fiance, Butch did not. As my machine was being lifted & moved by the thundering wave of snow I wondered what to do, I had just waved him to 'get going fast' grabbed the handles to hang on and heard the word "swim" somewhere above my head. I looked back to where he was and he was gone & the waves were bigger and faster....I chose not to let go of my machine, it was buried and the snow that felt like extra thick cement settled around my chest. I sat there listening to the heavy silence, waiting for him to call my name, yet knowing deep inside that I would never hear his voice again....I called & called and called to him.....I dug the rest of my body out & set out to search, crawled across to where I had seen him last, crawled around in the dark all over the mass. Went back to where he had been and dug a 6ft + hole, it was so deep....I heard a noise and my heart pounded with a false hope that it was his sled, but now I was stuck in this hole, clawing at the sides to get up and out, I realized that i needed 'steps' in it to get to the surface, built them and got out. The silence, once again overwhelming, I realized the 'noise' was another avalanche & I was just lucky enough that it did not drop on me as I was deep in that hole.....I have often thought of that hole as my grave, I dug my own grave that night. And no, no one knew where we were.....I had only my hands to dig with, I kept calm and when I got too hot I took the neck warmer and other things off but shoved them inside my other gear to be sure not to lose them, as I knew it was going to be a long night & long hike out. I dug many other holes, not so big...eventually sat on the edge of it and said my 'goodbyes' (a word I have not used since) hiked out 5+miles, got help & led them back in. Butch was found, with one hand 2 inches from the surface, his machine on top of him at the bottom of the avalanche, an area that when I considered searching made my stomach knot up & so I never went there.....he had no ice mask, which means that the wind was knocked out of him and he never took another breath....I wonder if he heard me calling him.........I wonder if I had a shovel if I would have dug more holes....I KNOW if I had had a probe I would have covered the entire area and found him. I KNOW if we had had beacons I would have saved his life....he wasn't that far away OR buried deep** I don't really wonder so much anymore, he was called to do greater things & I was meant to be here. I have fun memories & love in my heart, gratitude for being given the little bit of time we had.** Seems to me there is more snow this year, probably not but uggghhh its been snowing every frikn day lol, man sometimes I just hate winter, I wish it would rain but thats what caused the poor riding conditions that we never should have been out in....Do you have a beacon, probe, shovel, inflatable vest, knowledge of how to lay a grid ....do you know CPR.....do your friends.....I would hope that everyone I know does....it actually can happen to you. **sharing in hopes of touching some one some where enough to inspire them to ride safer** I had NO idea my story would be shared SO many times, I am overwhelmed with gratitude! I appreciate all of you who choose to 'be the light' for your family & friends!! ** the heli could not fly, too foggy, I had to wait for a police dog (incredible to see them work) he found Butch in less than a minute! One of Butches best friends was an EMT & did CPR for 5+miles on him, on a toboggan being pulled by a sled I watched them 'shock' him 3 times on the way to a hospital 30 mi out...I have since become an EMT heart emoticon #avalanchesurvivor #avalanche #sledding #snowmobiling
