MILLCREEK, Utah — Travis Haussener has been backcountry skiing for 12 years.
“I ski about 150 days a season, you know, for hours on end on the weekends," he said. “My motto has always been, the best way to not get in an avalanche is, don't ski in avalanche terrain. But obviously I took it just one little step too far.”
On Wednesday, he thought he was skiing on stable snow, when suddenly he realized he was in danger.
“I heard the big 'wumpf,' felt like the ground shake, and then all of a sudden there's this wall of snow coming down on me that envelops me," said Haussener. "And then I thought, that was it. I thought, you know, my life was over.”
Haussener desperately tried digging himself out using his one free arm.
“In between digs, I started yelling for help," he said. "In, you know, the hopes of some miracle.”
Miraculously, an off-duty Unified Fire EMT heard his cries and called in search and rescue teams. It took eight hours to get Haussener off the mountain. His body temperature dropped to 93 degrees, and he stopped shivering, he said.
“I was [like], you know, 'Guys, you gotta get me down or I'm gonna die up here,'" said Haussener. "Like, 'I will freeze to death.'”
The Utah Avalanche Center put out a 'Special Avalanche Bulletin’ for this weekend, extending the warning beyond those who are up in high-elevation areas of the mountains.
“What's unusual right now is that that snow has worked down into the mid and the lower elevations so it's not just up along the ridges," said Craig Gordon, Avalanche Forecaster.
READ: Avalanche buries, injures skier in Neffs Canyon
Lots of trailheads and foothills are now avalanche territory, and Gordon recommends sticking with low-angle, gentle terrain for now.
“These are unusual avalanche conditions for us," he said. "Let's not get lured into a false sense of security with bright sunshine and amazing powder.”
Nursing a hole in his lung, broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder, Haussener wishes he had paid more attention to the snow.
“I want to keep being in the mountains, keep doing what I love," he said. "I'll be maybe a little bit more careful next time.
